I think the ODOW's information about gizzard shad production may help to explain in part the recent appearances of large numbers of gulls inland at Oberlin Res, Hoover Res, and Deer Creek Res. I'm not sure how it explains the utterly unprecedented new records (at these spots and others) of Iceland, glaucous, and lesser and greater black-backed gulls well away from Lake Erie (where gizzard shad are just as easy to find, after all). Why would surprising numbers of gulls rare inland show up? Surely this is not a once-in-a-lifetime shad event. A few others have offered interesting opinions about this phenomenon. I heard from a friend in Ontario who pointed out there's a brief period in spring when bodies of water are thawing, refreezing, and generally in a state of flux when gulls can find dead fishes trapped in the ice more easily. That fits recent Ohio conditions inland: see Tom Bain's post. He went on to explain the strange numbers of species very rare inland by suggesting they may have, for one reason or another (such as an abnormally cold and snowy winter: see Matt Erickson's post), chosen a route from the Atlantic coast to the breeding grounds that brought more of them to Ohio. Thus, these gulls may not be dropping down from Lake Erie, but rather coming a bit further west on their way from the coast to the breeding grounds. He speculated that the kittiwake at Hoover, quite rare as a spring migrant, may have gotten swept up in a movement of ring-bills arriving from the coast. That's where we stand now. Bill Whan Columbus, OH ______________________________________________________________________ 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]