Fellow birders, Now that the dust, or perhaps feathers, has cleared from all the bird reports from the MacGee Marsh boardwalk , it's time for the BIRDERS report. The total number of birders on the boardwalk was probably down a bit this year, compared to last year, when gridlock occurred several times. None the less, there was still a serious flock of birders around. I heard one estimate of 7,000 and my estimate was 5,000. Don't hesitate to suggest your own estimate. However many there were, they were again virtually all white, with just 6 or 7 African Americans and not many more Asians. We need to get the Obamas to go birding. I did talk to one Indian birder, now from Fox Chapel, Pa. In fact there was a sizeable "fallout" of Pittsburgh birders, who could be identified only by their voice. Again, the Amish made up about 10% of all birders, as they have for several years. License plates included California, Texas, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and all the midwestern states. Many Obama bumper stickers, one Palin ( on the Texas truck that also said "Save a Cow, Eat a Vegetarian") Only one birder had a Ladder with him. That would be Tom Bartlett, doing his 14th or so Big Sit. He had 94 the last time I checked. Jim McCormac was spotted, showing off the new Binoculars he received as a part of his well deserved recent recogintion. Boy Birder Ethan Kistler (who is now a young man birder) was everywhere, leading groups and finding rare birds, and lots of birds. Also spotted Dan Sanders, Bill Heck, Paul McSweeny, Doreene Linzell, Ben Warner, just to mention a few who post to this listserve. Add Jen Brumfield to that list. Though not much bigger than a warbler, she was also spotted. The newest observed birder behavior was the use of cell phones to communicate the location of rare birds. In fact, I thought the overall cooperation level was way up this year. It helped me get 27 warblers, and a one day bird total of 104 species, and 123 for the trip to Lake Erie. I'm proud to be a member of such a weird group. Joe in the Woods Somerset, Ohio Perry County ______________________________________________________________________ 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]