Ohio Birders, Please consider volunteering for the Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas. If you enjoy Christmas Bird Counts, you're going to love Atlas work. June is here and this is prime time to hit the ground running during this 4th (of 5) year of this exciting project to document Ohio's birds. If you're already volunteering for OBBA2, please consider investing some effort in 4-5 new blocks this summer; 5-10 hours of solid birding in each block could yield substantial species lists. If every birder in the state continued such a trend over this year and into next year, OBBA2 could easily attain its goal of providing survey data for every block in the state. In particular, think about covering a priority block with little or no data. Some counties really need help. In particular, check out priority blocks in Sandusky, Seneca, Putnam, Allen, and Mercer in the northwest. In the far south, look at blocks in Adams, Brown, Highland, Jackson, or Gallia. These counties should prove to be especially diverse considering their higher amounts of forest cover. Also, think about looking into priority blocks that already have data to see if you can pick a few more species that haven't been recorded yet. From the link below, click on the block you're interested in exploring. This will open up a link to that block's profile in the data entry site. Then click on the tab for "2006-2010 Results." The resulting species list coupled with the block maps may reveal some gaps in the current species data. Maybe your block lacks Field Sparrow and Willow Flycatcher but the aerial imagery seems to indicate plenty of 'old field' habitat appropriate for these species. These clean-up efforts are important and who knows...you might just come across a rarity like Bell's Vireo. To view all priority blocks, go to: http://www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/Priority%20Block%20Map.php Maybe you're interested in helping us learn more about the distributions of particular species? Chuck-will's-widow is a nice example. It's narrow distribution in Adams County has been recorded fairly well at this point but it could be found in other areas that just haven't been explored yet (what about Pike or Highland counties?). Good birding everyone. As always, contact us with any questions or concerns. Aaron Boone Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II School of Environment & Natural Resources The Ohio State University 210 Kottman Hall 2021 Coffey Road Columbus, OH 43210-1085 614.247.6458 (office) www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/ -- Aaron Boone Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II School of Environment & Natural Resources The Ohio State University 210 Kottman Hall 2021 Coffey Road Columbus, OH 43210-1085 614.247.6458 (office) www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/ ______________________________________________________________________ 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]