I checked the pond at Melvin Stone this morning, to no avail. The Common Shelduck I reported yesterday was not present. Of the several hundred other waterfowl present there were no remarkable sightings. I then tore off to cherry pick other likely spots in the Clinton/Warren/Greene area including Cowan Lake, Caesar Creek Lake, Spring Valley, and the Roxanna-New Burlington gravel pits. No shelduck. I checked Melvin again at sunset. No shelduck, but there were five Snow Geese present. Joe McMahon of Chilicothe wrote to report that a shelduck spent the winter in a local park a few years back and was widely believed to be an escaped bird. That is, I believe, the central question in this case. Jared Merriman wrote to suggest that the bird was actually a Muscovy Duck. In fact, that is the first alternative hypothesis I entertained. I have seen many muscovies, both wild and domesticated, in those country and in Central America. I rejected that hypothesis for reasons I will include in my submission to the records committee. Let them sort it out. That's what they get paid the big bucks for. Cheers, Bob -- Robert D Powell Wilmington, OH, USA [log in to unmask] http://rdp1710.wordpress.com Nulla dies sine linea ______________________________________________________________________ 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]