Today Darlene Sillick, Al Lasala and I went birding at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area in Wyandot County. With all the bodies of water locked in ice we concentrated on birds of prey and winter visitors with respectable results. Some of the highlights were Bald Eagles, Northern Harriers, Rough-legged Hawks, Red-headed Woodpecker, Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs and a Savannah Sparrow. Bald Eagles – The 9 observed consisted of adults and immature seen at Ch-71, TH-108 and CH-68. Northern Harriers – 10 observed. Our favorites were two males hunting in tandem near the Sportsmen’s Service Center. Rough-legged Hawks – 9 observed. They were mostly in the eastern half of the wildlife area. Several were seen close as they put on a show for us. Red-headed Woodpecker – Adult observed at Pond 33. Northern Shrikes – 2 observed. We located the first along CH-71 almost as soon as we arrived at Killdeer Plains. We were enjoying watching it when it changed locations and I spotted a second individual about 100 yards from the first. We had prolonged and close observations of the shrikes. We were able to clearly see the face mask, bill and eyes. Horned Larks – Multitudes. They were everywhere and in high numbers (100’ s) Snow Buntings – Estimated at 75-100 individuals, although I think this number may be too conservative. We found nice flocks along TH-67. At times the Snow Buntings outnumbered the Horned Larks. Lapland Longspurs – Low numbers, mostly along TH-67. Eastern Meadowlarks – about 16 along CH-71 just west of TH-123. Savannah Sparrow – A nicely colored individual was located along CH-77 near TH-103. Our complete list for the trip (note we did not go into the owl groves – one of us has a tricky knee, or stay for the short-ears). Our complete species list for the day: Canada Goose Mallard Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk American Kestrel Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Red-headed Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Northern Shrike Blue Jay American Crow Horned Lark Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Eastern Bluebird American Robin European Starling American Tree Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Lapland Longspur Snow Bunting Northern Cardinal Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow Charlie Bombaci For Myself, Darlene Sillick & Al Lasala ______________________________________________________________________ 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]