Never have I seen so many birders along this stretch of the lakefront as this morning - Kirtland Bird Club and Ohio Young Birder's Club outings convened at E 72nd St, and the Columbus Avids were in town. While it was great to so many familiar faces, the quality of the "avian faces" was a bit subpar. A Ring-necked Duck at E 72nd St was a new arrival, but the gulls continue to use the distant open water leads. One Glaucous had been spotted earlier on the ice. At Eastlake Power Plant, the situation was a bit improved. There were more ducks and gulls in close, including three Iceland Gulls (first-cycle) and a White-winged Scoter. I pulled into Holden Arboretum, rolled down my window, and simultaneously heard White-winged Crossbills. A nearly pure male flock of twenty birds adorned the spruces near the entrance like Christmas tree ornaments. I cannot stress how lucky we are to be part of this gigantic crossbill movement - enjoy them while you can! Photos of these birds are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28939750@N05/ Quick highlights for Emil Bacik and I from Cuyahoga Valley NP yesterday included 22 crossbills and Purple Finches at Oak Hill, and a grey-phase screech-owl (thanks, Jen Brumfield) and male MERLIN at Station Rd. Good birding - Gabe Leidy Cleveland Gabe Leidy "The first voices are heard before daybreak. It is easy to pick out these first, solitary singers...In that dawn chorus one hears the throb of life itself." -Rachel Carson ______________________________________________________________________ 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]