Jack Stenger called me about a possible 3rd-basic/adult winter California gull seen south of the Sunbury Rd causeway yesterday. It was twilight, and the bird was seen only in flight, but he is familiar with the species. I went up and couldn't find it, but I didn't have time to search north of Sunbury. There were only 50 or so gulls in the area I looked at, so the search wasn't so tough. Something worth looking for, anyway. Some friends and I birded Darby Creek MP this morning. A lot of people were walking out to look at the bisons, but we were intrigued to see that elimination of tiles has made the planned 800-acre wetland on the other side of Darby Creek Rd begin to bloom. Swales there have filled with meltwater, and things look great. There were 3-4000 ducks and geese out there, with many others invisible. There are even some signs of walkways, etc., already. The Cols skyline is visible on the horizon, and this already looks super; it will be bigger than many existing Metro Parks, and it kind of reminds me of a Nat Wildlife Refuge property up north, but without the impoundments, with water following its own way. This could be Shorebird Central soon, with maybe sought-after species restored, like sandhill cranes and even black terns! Very much worth keeping an eye on, and investing in with future levies. For now, parking is almost non-existent, and people speed on the road, but even sidelong glances are exciting. Read the article on wetlands in the latest Parkscope magazine at all the kiosks. Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ 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]