First the Merlin- A merlin was photograpged by George and Kelly Bennish on Sunday near Dundee Falls at the railroad crossing on (I believe) CR 90. We searched for it today but could not locate it. Quarry-After birding our way to the quarry we were greeted with a sign- no birders on company property. My fellow traveller asked if there was a designated area that was permitted that was not on active compnay property. They gave us three reasons that birding was disallowed: Trespassing afterhours and on weekends (ie:tracks in the snow),too many people at one time (he said cars were lined up at one point) and once granted permission some folks did not follow the rules. George apologized and thanked them for their time and we moved on. So it goes. The reception at the Harris Sparrow site was considerably different. Although we saw no sparrow, in conversation we learned that young Andy Troyer has 280 Ohio sps and when asked what easy ones he was missing, he responded-grouse. Now that is a bird we here in Harrison County can help him with and for his family's gracious hosting of bird pilgrims, I offered up my farm for his 281st bird. I gave him my phone and address and a list of days I was off. On the way home I decided to send him a postcard and offer to pick up him and 5 friends and haul them to Cadiz for 281. It is obviously easier to repay a fellow birder than a corporation. However, the quarry is a repeat of what happened at the Harrison County Airport when Upland Sandpipers were reported there. It has taken me two years to smooth that one over and the airport is now at least birder tolerant and appreciates the rarity of its summer residents. That being said, I belive with a little common sense and respect both incidents were likely avoidable. ______________________________________________________________________ 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]