The temperature difference between Columbus and Fremont is significant as far as flora and avain changes. We often make quick drives between the two cities to visit our daughter, and especially in Spring and Fall, the temps are warmer, the tree buds and leaves burst out, and birds return much sooner in Columbus. I saw a thousand Robins and a few Northern Mockingbirds on the OSU campus and very few in Fremont- the Lake Erie effect is for real. The "invasion of House Finches" in Columbus is true; my daughter's feeders were overrun by them, but my feeders in Fremont are vacant of them. The two cities seem to be about 2 weeks apart time-wise; I'll see House Finches on my feeders and a plethora of Robins in my yard in Fremont in about that time. I always enjoy recording sitings of returning birds in Columbus, because I eventually see them, in about 2 weeks, here in Fremont. Robert in Fremont http://wildlifefriendlylawn.blogspot.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]