Five Rusty Blackbirds (at least) gathered with about 2500 starlings, 200 Red-winged Blackbirds and 300 Common Grackles in trees along Island Road, Circleville late this afternoon. Today, I checked wet sloughs from Waverly (Pike County) to Delaware County searching for rusties. There were probably more than five rusties in the flock I chased but the rapidly dimming light did not offer enough opportunity. Waterfowl is moving. Some highlights: Flooded sloughs along Island Road north of Circleville 8 Wood Ducks (both sexes even) 17 Hooded Mergansers 7 Canvasback (2 male) 12 Ring-necked Ducks, males (plus many Mallards and many hundreds of Canada Geese) 6 American Widgeon Stages Pond Nature Preserve backwater 20+ Hooded Mergansers 6 American Black Ducks 3Ring-necked Ducks, males Circleville Quarry One thousand plus Canada Geese and many Mallards 15 Ring-necked Ducks 5 Canvasback (two males) 3 Redheads (one male) 4 American Widgeon, even 1 Snow Goose (blue) 3 Gadwall 20 Ring-necked Ducks, males Charlie's Pond Northern Harriers More pheasants than you can shake a stick at Chillicothe City Park Lake 6 Mute Swans 7 Canvasback (2 males) 2 Am. Widgeon Canada Geese and Mallards in numbers plu lots of waterfowl of mixed heritage Eastern Avenue lake (by Route 23, Chillicothe) 2 Bufflehead 8 Hooded Mergs. 6 American Black Ducks Three Locks Road heron rookery (Three Locks Road north of Higby Road, Pike County) 52 empty nests 6 young Bald Eagles perching, frolicking on the nests Lake White, Waverly 20+ Hooded Mergs. 6 American Black Ducks 10-15 Ring-necks again, males Ring-billed Gulls GB heron Belted Kingfisher Etc. Goldie Gunlock Wetland, Chillicothe (by Walmart) 4 Green-winged Teal Ring-necks again Etc. Lots of Northern Harriers throughout Scioto Valley And,so on... Tom Bain Central Ohio Clayey Till Plain ______________________________________________________________________ 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]