Today I was able to visit both the Avon Lake Power Plant and Meadow Lakes, the residential neighborhood adjacent to Sandy Ridge. . Meadow Lakes : 1 Short Eared Owl was present at end of Hunter Lake Drive at 4:45. I was able get great looks at 25-35 yards while it was hunting. On the undersides of the wings there were heavy black markings that were perpendicular to the wing. They were "squared off", almost rectangular and were in the center of the wing. Are these marks diagnostic for a SOE or were these marks specific to the bird I was observing? I bumped into a fellow birder who is also a Metoparks employee. I believe she said her name was Linda. She told me to keep my eye out for the Merlin. Sure enough, as I was leaving the development, I caught sight a very fast, small bird of prey. It landed on the roof of a house. I initially would have identified it at as a Kestrel, but since Linda gave me the heads up, I pursued it. When it landed on the house, it had an entirely different perching posture than a Kestrel. I don't have much experience with Merlins, but I followed this bird to 4 different perching locations and each time the bird held its body tight and low to the surface so that you couldn't see its legs and its profile was very low. Very different posture that the upright Kestrel that I see frequently. I finally got a good look at the front and was able to positively identify it as the Merlin. Beautiful bird. Thanks Linda for the heads up! . Avon Lake Power Plant - Lots of birds close to the pier if you want to brave the elements. Both Scaups, both Mergansers (no hooded), Redheads, Canvasbacks, Goldeneyes and Ruddys. I did not see the Long Tailed Duck or the Red Throated Loon, but I was only able to take the cold for 10 minutes or so. I think if you bundle up it's a good spot since the ice is open right near the pier and it offers close looks at lots of birds. Spencer ______________________________________________________________________ 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]