The highlight at Pickerel Creek W.A. (Sandusky Co.) today for Emil Bacik and I was finding YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, both an ad. and juv. The birds were hanging out in a wooded swampy area, reached via the first gravel pulloff along U.S. 6 (coming from the east, that is). The adult bird flew off to the north and out over the bay, but the youngster was still present when we left. Access and visibilty at this area is a bit of a problem, as there are no mown trails here. I had rubber boots on, and had waded through the marsh hoping for a better view of this swamp and hoping to refind last week's Tricolored Heron. There were at least seven Black-crowneds hunting in the area, too, but the Yellows were a bit more reclusive. This seems evidence that these birds bred in the area, whether at a rookery or nearby stream. I would lean toward the stream theory, as there are several creeks west of Pickerel that appear most suitable, and most Ohio nesting records have come away from rookeries. However, there is rookery on Pickerel Creek property and a sizable mixed heron/egret colony in nearby Sandusky Bay. Documentation photos of both birds are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28939750@N05/?saved=1 If the link doesn't work, replace the word 'at' with the at 'symbol.' The shorebird situation was far less exciting. Recent rains have raised water levels throughout the area rendering pretty much all of Pickerel useless to pipers for the time being. The exception was a gorgeously-plumaged AMERICAN AVOCET enjoying the deeper pools in Unit 18 (the northeastern impoundment). Only nine shorebird sp. for the day at both areas combined. Pipe Creek's Unit B, however, still looks good, and while no rarer shorebirds were present, Snowy Egrets here numbered seven. Good birding - Gabe Leidy Cleveland ______________________________________________________________________ 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]