After my afternoon meeting canceled I decided to take a drive out to western Ohio to see what I could see. I didn't really stop anywhere, it was more of a drive by tour. On Rt 113 south of Thunderbird Hills golf course there was a mixed flock of red winged blackbirds, grackles, brown headed cowbirds, starlings and approx 40 rusty blackbirds staying slightly out of the main flock. Maybe 3000 birds in total flying from field to field, settling for a few moments and then taking flight again. Also observed while driving from Huron to Magee Marsh were 9 bald eagles, 6 kestrels, 11 red tailed hawks, 1 Turkey vulture, 2 northern harriers, 15 golden eyes, 8 hooded mergansers, 3 common mergansers, 3 great blue herons, plenty of Canada geese, lots of robins, 1 belted kingfisher, horned larks and snow buntings, 4 eastern bluebirds, and a stop at Castalia pond just before dark yielded only 5 bufflehead, 15 mallards and one mute swan. Spring can't be that far away, can it? Good Birding, Dan **************Need a job? Find an employment agency near you. (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agencies&ncid=emlcntusyelp00000003) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]