While heading home from a conference in Columbus, I was surprised to happen upon a Northern Shrike along CH-115 in Killdeer Plains this morning. The bird was initially in the scrubby hedgerow on the west side of the road, but then flew to perch in a small tree in the middle of the field on the east side of the road. Both of these areas are in the vicinity of parking lot 'U'. Unfortunately the bird flushed to parts unknown when I exited the car to set up my spotting scope. My first impression of 'hey, a mockingbird' was dispelled the instant I got binoculars on the bird: the round head, heavy bill, bull neck, and overall behavior were obvious. Likewise, the bird's plumage was a pale pearl gray which ruled out Loggerhead. My references don't include Ohio- specific dates of occurence for this species, so I'd be interested to hear if this sighting is particularly early. The two shallow ponds visible from the same stretch of CH-115 also held 63 Dunlins, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, 5 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 dowitchers, and about 5 peeps. Lighting and blustery wind made firm identification of the dowitchers' and peeps' precise species impossible (for this birder, anyway). There were plenty (~6) of Bald Eagles aloft throughout the WMA as well. I also saw the previously posted Black-bellied Whistling Duck in Bluffton (Allen County) early this afternoon. I doubt I'll ever see a Northern Shrike and a Black-bellied Whistling Duck on the same day again! Dan Sparks-Jackson Chelsea, MI ______________________________________________________________________ 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]