I shared the brutal weather conditions here with my father and brother, Bill Reiner Sr. and Bill Reiner Jr. (who is visiting from central Texas. climate shock!), for about 3 hours early this morning. Our resilience was rewarded, at least by Sandhill Cranes. Several flocks flew over us, all headed south. None appeared to double back, so if none of the birds were re-counts, our total was over 500 individuals! Some groups were bugling -- an awesome chorus! Portions of the upper reservoir are ice-covered, and we didn't scan a small section. Highlights from the morning: Mallard - 10-15 Gadwall - 1 SCOTER sp. - 1 (too far out to i.d. with the weather conditions and constant diving) Hooded Merganser - 10-20 Ruddy Duck - 10-15 Pied-billed Grebe - 2 Bald Eagle - 1 N. Harrier - 3 Cooper's Hawk - 1 Red-tailed Hawk - 2-3 Kestrel - numerous (on area roads) SANDHILL CRANE - possibly 500+ Killdeer - at least 1 Bonaparte's & Ring-billed Gulls - several hundred each Herring Gull - small #s Am. Pipit - 6 Songbirds in the State Park area included Cedar Waxwing, Am. Robin, Am. Tree, Field, & Whit-throated Sparrow, Dark-Eyed Junco, N. Cardinal. Happy Birding! Eric Reiner Ashville, OH ______________________________________________________________________ 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]