Friday, April 17 - (Sheldon Marsh, Old Woman's Creek, Medusa Marsh and Benton-Carroll Road) Benton-Carroll is a real pleasure to bird along. The people that live nearby are very friendly, and the 'locals' that drive by are always curious and interested in what is seen. Trucks and traffic have decreased significantly on Route 2. Route 2 has also been much improved and widened through the area from Route 19 through Bono. It is a much better road since we began going there 14 years ago. We have never had a problem with law enforcement personnel. A beautiful weekend for birding in northern Ohio. With temps in the 70's, the birds were arriving. The Ottawa Auto Tour, as KK has mentioned, had a great variety of ducks, many eagle sightings. We watched a male northern harrier go through courtship display, zooming straight up like a rocket, turning on its back, and spiraling near the ground repeatedly. Life sighting ! Our list for Friday and Saturday includes birds seen on the boardwalk late in the day on Saturday--3 p.m. until 6 p.m. Surprises were singing yellow warbler M & F; Brewer's blackbird, lots of hermit thrushes and winter wrens. And seemingly, every yellow-rumped warbler in Ohio ! Altogether, a total of 84 species, including 1 NOID. Canada goose Mute swan Trumpeter swan Gadwall American widgeon Mallard Blue-winged teal Northern shoveler Northern pintail Green-winged teal Redhead Ring-necked duck Lesser scaup Bufflehead Ruddy duck Pied-billed grebe DC cormorant Great blue heron Great egret Snowy egret Turkey vulture Bald eagle Northern harrier Cooper's hawk Red-tailed hawk American kestrel Common moorhen American coot American golden-plover Killdeer Greater yellowleg Lesser yellowleg Pectoral sandpiper Dunlin Wilson's snipe Bonaparte's gull Ring-billed gull Herring gull Mourning dove Red-bellied woodpecker Yellow-bellied sapsucker Downy woodpecker Northern flicker Pileated woodpecker Eastern phoebe Blue Jay American crow Tree swallow Barn swallow Black-capped chickadee Tufted titmouse White-breasted nuthatch Brown creeper Carolina wren Winter wren Golden-crowned kinglet Ruby-crowned kinglet Blue-gray gnatcatcher Eastern bluebird Hermit thrush American robin Northern mockingbird European starling Yellow warbler Yellow-rumped warbler Eastern towhee American tree sparrow Chipping sparrow Field sparrow Song sparrow Swamp sparrow White-throated sparrow Dark-eyed junco Northern cardinal Red-winged blackbird Eastern meadowlark Rusty blackbird Brewer's blackbird Common grackle Brown-headed cowbird Purple finch House finch American goldfinch House sparrow Now, about the NOID. It was along the causeway at Crane Creek, sparrow-size bird, clear breast, no dots, no stripes, no nuttin on the breast. Cheek pattern looked like a lark something--2 black stripes on top of head, 2 black stripes on throat looking like a broken X from straight on. Song was a rapid, buzzy trill. Nothing in Peterson's or Sibley's seemed to fit. HELP ??? Thanks to everyone who helped make this such a great weekend ! Ed and Bev Neubauer Englewood, Ohio **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1220814852x1201410738/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fwww.freecreditreport.com%2Fpm%2Fdefault.aspx%3Fsc%3D668072%26 hmpgID%3D62%26bcd%3DAprilfooter419NO62) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]