I was out at Spring Valley Wildlife Area (Warren County) with one of my ornithology students. While we were on the observation platform at the end of the boardwalk, an adult Least Bittern flew by below us. The big buffy wing patches were clearly visible. The bird dropped into the cattails and disappeared. This is only the second time I have seen Least Bittern at this location, from which they have long been reported. I chalk it up to beginner's luck on the part of the student, who was somewhat bemused by all the fuss. This suggests a new birding strategy: take along a rank beginner, the ranker the better, in order to take advantage of their beginner's luck. Not a bad idea even you don't see any good birds. Cheers, Bob -- Robert D Powell Congress Farm Research Institute Wilmington, OH, USA [log in to unmask] http://rdp1710.wordpress.com Nulla dies sine aves ______________________________________________________________________ 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]