Yesterday (April 1) I heard three first of season birds here in Jefferson Co. Purple Finch Chipping Sparrow Louisiana Waterthrush The Purple Finch has been of particular interest to me in recent years due to their presence in Jefferson Co. during the summer months. In the last two years I have located singing males or pairs of these birds in four different Jefferson Co. locations. In one location (my back yard) late last spring I found an adult feeding a recently fledged young. All locations for this species have been upland stands of conifers. The conifers have been all pine, all spruce, and mixed stands. Years ago I did not encounter this species as frequently as I have in this area during the last two or three years. Purple Finches are a bird to keep in mind while atlasing areas with conifers...especially here in Appalachia. Also of note...there were a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches in the Red Pine in my back yard. Scott Albaugh Jefferson County _________________________________________________________________ Rediscover HotmailŪ: Get quick friend updates right in your inbox. http://windowslive.com/RediscoverHotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Rediscover_Updates1_042009 ______________________________________________________________________ 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]