It was a slow morning at Alum Creek Lake, with only a few surprises. Water levels continue to be high here, effectively limiting waterfowl and shorebird activity (but allowing Hoover to draw down, since the 2 are linked). I stopped at New Galena, Plumb Rd, SummerRidge, and Cheshire access areas, all along the east shore. Notables included: Great Egret - 1 bird flying south over the Cheshire causeway Ospreys - 3 separate individuals at 3 different locations Larids - 350+ Ring-billed Gulls scattered around the lower reservoir, most of them at the beach. A single Caspian Tern was fishing offshore at Cheshire. Swift & Swallows - light on the aerial insectivores, with only 1 swift and a handful of migrant swallows (12 Barn, 1 Cliff), all heading down the middle of the lake. Flycatchers - 3 E.Kingbirds at New Galena were late-ish migrants, while an Acadian Flycatcher at Cheshire was not so easily categorized Warblers - hardly any, save for a singing male Black&White at New Galena. Grackles - a big roost east of Plumb Road sent out 2400 birds late in the morning. I don't remember them flocking this early in prior years, but have already seen large flocks in several areas of central Ohio. ______________________________________________________________________ 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]