Saturday, March 21--What a great day for the auto tour at Ottawa NWR. Abundant waterfowl everywhere. We were not disappointed at Metzger either. Ottawa: Pied-billed grebe American coots Tundra and trumpeter swans Canada geese Great blue herons Great egrets Ring-billed, Bonaparte's, and herring gulls Gadwalls Mallards Hooded and common mergansers Northern shovelers Ring-necked ducks American widgeons Black ducks Redheads Canvasbacks Wood ducks Northern pintails Green- and blue-winged teals Buffleheads Lesser scaups Killdeer Wilson's snipes Lesser yellowlegs Bald eagles Northern harriers Red-tailed hawks American kestrel Downy woodpecker Tree swallows Northern cardinal Black-capped chickadee Dark-eyed juncos Brown-headed cowbirds Red-winged and rusty blackbirds Common grackles American robin Song, swamp, house, and tree sparrows Metzger Marsh--In late afternoon, the light was not in our favor. A return trip Sunday morning should be better. Great blue herons Canvasbacks Gadwalls Redheads Buffleheads American coots Green- and blue-winged teals Lesser scaups Ring-necked ducks American widgeons (heard the Eurasian had been seen around 2:30 p.m. but no luck. Maybe Sunday morning.) Horned lark Mourning dove Ring-billed gulls Bald eagle Red-winged and rusty blackbirds Eastern phoebe American tree, song, and house sparrows An interesting observation: Along Zenser Rd./Turtle Creek, the bare trees held hundreds and hundreds of male cowbirds and a few female cowbirds, hundreds and hundreds of female redwings and few males, many grackles and a few rusties. Ed and Bev Neubauer Englewood, Ohio **************Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for Under $10. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood00000002) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]