During my first walk around the marsh, at 6:30 this morning, I heard the distinctive whinny of a sora. Just once. Minutes later I thought I heard the call of a Virginia Rail. Also just once. I spent another hour and a half waiting and listening, until only 15 feet from where I was standing I heard the loud, harsh kidik call of the V. Rail. It called repeatedly from a patch of cattails, just off the path. I focused my binoculars on the tiny patch of open water and in a few minutes the rail quickly crossed the open bit and disappeared, silent again, into the cattails. A first for me at Frohring, and not for want of trying. I knew they were there but never could locate one before. Inga Schmidt ______________________________________________________________________ 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]