Wednesday I arrived around 11am. There was one Avocet. A second one arrived right before sunset. Other birds seen were: Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper. By late afternoon the Avocet was really the only bird around until the second one flew in at sunset. Two groups of locals got into a pretty heated argument over one group doing donuts, knocking over a garbage can with their vehicle, and racing through the water. The other group had children and were concerned with their safety although pretty "vocal". Just after one group left, the police came.....eventually 2 cruisers were there trying to sort it all out. Thursday Early in the morning there were 4 Ruddy Turnstones, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Killdeer, 2 Sanderlings, and a Black Bellied Plover. By evening there were only 4 Least Sandpipers and 1 Sanderling. It was nice finally meeting Bill Whan and seeing Bob Royse again. The interesting part of the day were the waterspouts that occurred out on the water. At one time there were 9 waterspouts coming from the enormous dark cloud. It was my first experience with a waterspout. I have always heard about them.....in Florida but was surprised to learn that they are also common on the Great Lakes. Friday At 6am there were 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, 4 Killdeer, 5 Least Sandpiper, and 2 Semipalmated Plovers. By 7:15 there were no birds. I decided to come on home at that point. It looks like the water is drying up faster that I had thought it might. There was a lot of water when I was there a little over a week ago and I'd estimate that maybe only half as much now exists. I was disappointed in the lack of shorebirds as a whole. Very few birds seem to spend any time in the main "pond". I don't know if there isn't the proper food or if there just isn't that many birds coming through. I've posted some images of the Avocet along with a couple of other birds and one of the waterspouts. (What's New 8/7/09) Lana Hays Northern Kentucky www.lanahays.com ______________________________________________________________________ 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]