Al LaSala and I enjoyed a day of birding in Wyandot and Marion Counties today. Rick C has previously posted about the White-winged Crossbills and Common Redpoll at Oak Hill Cemetery. These delightful and beautiful birds were totally cooperative for us. When Al and I arrived we began walking and shortly I heard the crossbills chattering. Al and I were enjoying the show when Rick arrived. At one point I thought the crossbills were about to start up Rick's leg as they came right up to him. Al got out his camera and took some full frame pictures to remember the occasion. For Al who is a recent member of the birding fraternity, it was two life birds at once in the same tree. A trick we all would like to pull off. We next moved on Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area. Raptors were scattered throughout the area and we located Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, American Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks. Surprisingly we didn't see any Bald Eagles. This was an interesting fact as the ODNR Eagle Watch Volunteers were meeting at the Sportsman's Club building today. Maybe the eagles were also having a refresher course. There were plenty of Horned Larks around, but we only saw a few Snow Buntings. We met several other birders who had checked the two pine groves and reported not locating any owls. Al and I then continued on to Big Island Wildlife Area. The grasses were filled with small song birds feeding on the available seeds. Among them were American Tree Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, a sole Savannah Sparrow and a flock of Snow Buntings. As we walked along the levee the snow crunched loudly under our feet and up popped a Short-eared Owl which did a delightful flight over the grass before landing in open view. Several Northern Harriers were busy hunting over the grass and one caused the Short-eared Owl to take flight and find a better place to settle. This graceful owl was life bird three of the day for Al. Great company, good birds, wonderful day. Charlie Bombaci **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=De cemailfooterNO62) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]