Hi all, Peter King and I shot up to Killdeer Plains for a bit this morning. Best bird was not one I normally think about when at Killdeer: a flyover Red Crossbill. People who get the chance should check out large urban cemeteries with lots of big conifers, like Green Lawn in Columbus, and see if some of these crossbills that are being reported of late are hanging out somewhere. Even better might be some of the larger stands of native Virginia and Pitch pine that occur along ridges in the southeastern counties. We also heard a number of Purple Finches in the area of the commonly visited pine grove that sometimes hosts Long-eared Owls, as well as a few flyover Snow Buntings. Seven Bald Eagles were seen, but in general not many raptors. All water is frozen so waterfowl are few and far between. Later, we met up with Ryan Steiner and his father at Big Island. We saw a half-dozen Northern Harriers working the massive fields on the north side of route 95, and Ryan had a Short-eared Owl there before we arrived. A handful of American Pipits were around, as well as a few more flyover Snow Buntings. The best bird here was a tough Marsh Wren lurking in cattails in the large impoundment farthest to the west along the north side of LaRue-Prospect Rd. Jim Jim McCormac Columbus, Ohio Like nature? Visit my blog: http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/ Like birds? Join the Ohio Ornithological Society: http://www.ohiobirds.org ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]