From the years of watching at my house, typically the first half hour of daylight is slow. Things pick up between 8:00 and 9:00. Depending on conditions, things can slow down rapidly or occasionally may last a several hours like today. It can be drastically different if you are out between 8 and 9 or showing up an hour later. Earlier is better. Bonaparte's are often late risers here at my house. It may be due to where they are roosting the night before though. The neat thing about watching the lake is every day is different. Rarely are two days in a row similar. John Pogacnik 4765 Lockwood Road Perry, OH 44081 (440) 259-2751 ______________________________________________________________________ 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]