Hi all, I couldn't resist making the trek up to Oberlin Reservoir in Lorain County, to witness the gull spectacle brought to light by Gabe Leidy and Emil Bacik. Those of us who were there weren't disappointed. Basically, this reservoir is like a giant bathtub, and as Gabe noted, viewing the birds is a snap. Although we were blasted by strong northerly winds and occasional snow squalls while enjoying temps in the 20's, but that's early March in Ohio. And sun glare off the water sometimes obscures birds, but that's easily solved by walking to one end or another of the reservoir. Several thousand birds loafed on the waters today, mostly Ring-billed and Herring as would be expected. But gems were scattered liberally throughout, offering excellent studies. We had one first-cycle Thayer's Gull, about five Iceland Gulls (two or three adults, one or two first-cycle, and one second-cycle), at least four Lesser Black-backed Gulls (one first-cycle, one second-cycle, and two adults), five or six Glaucous Gulls (two or three second-cycle birds and a few adults), and an amazing eleven or twelve Great Black-backed Gulls (mostly adults but at least two or three first-cycle and a second-cycle). There was also a smattering of waterfowl, including Canada Goose, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, and Hooded Merganser. As to the latter, a small group of males were joined by a female, and a few of the studs were making impressive displays, fanning those magnificent crests and generally pimping about in fine form. She appeared to ignore them. But a sure sign of spring! This is truly an outstanding opportunity to study gulls. At one point, we had six white-winged gulls in the same scope field, with Iceland and Glaucous practically bumping into each other. While Oberlin Reservoir has long been a magnet for gulls that are ordinarily found only on waters of Lake Erie, these numbers are crazy, as are the reports from other inland locales. I also stopped at Wellington Reservoir, which is one of the best reservoirs for waterfowl in northern Ohio. There I was greeted by conditions reminiscent of January atop the bluff at Avon Lake, with pile-driving north winds and snow squalls. There were several hundred ducks, mostly Canvasbacks, Redheads, Lesser and at least a few Greater Scaup, and Ring-necked Ducks. Also a few Bufflehead, American Black Duck, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Hooded Merganser, and Ruddy Duck, as well as two Pied-billed Grebe. Wellington Reservoir is almost always interesting and routinely attracts goodies like scoters and Long-tailed Ducks. If you find yourself in the area, it is always worth the stop. Information about these two reservoirs can be found at the OOS's site guide at: http://www.ohiobirds.org/birdingsites/showcountysites.php?County_ID=47 Jim McCormac Jim McCormac Columbus, Ohio Like nature? Visit my blog: http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/ Like birds? Join the Ohio Ornithological Society: http://www.ohiobirds.org ______________________________________________________________________ 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]