I had a great morning at Sandy Ridge, despite the rain. Highlights included: Am. Bittern, Sora, Va. Rail, Common Moorhen, a Sandhill Crane, a few FOS swallows and warblers, and some shorebirds. I had an extended, in flight view of the bittern, and the Va. Rail was giving great views alongside the walkway in the marsh. Number of species: 62 Canada Goose 45 Mute Swan 2 Wood Duck 15 Gadwall 12 American Wigeon 2 Mallard 8 Blue-winged Teal 3 Ring-necked Duck 6 Bufflehead 3 Ruddy Duck 35 Pied-billed Grebe 3 American Bittern 1 Great Blue Heron 2 Great Egret 9 Green Heron 3 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Virginia Rail 1 Sora 1 Common Moorhen 1 American Coot 60 Sandhill Crane 1 Killdeer 1 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Wilson's Snipe 9 American Woodcock 2 Ring-billed Gull 1 Mourning Dove 2 Chimney Swift 10 Belted Kingfisher 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Downy Woodpecker 2 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 2 Blue Jay 4 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6 Tree Swallow 50 Barn Swallow 9 Black-capped Chickadee 4 Tufted Titmouse 3 Brown Creeper 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Eastern Bluebird 1 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 15 European Starling 8 Yellow Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 6 Palm Warbler 3 American Tree Sparrow 1 Field Sparrow 1 Fox Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 5 Swamp Sparrow 7 Dark-eyed Junco 2 Northern Cardinal 4 Red-winged Blackbird 25 Rusty Blackbird 3 Common Grackle 8 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 American Goldfinch 4 House Sparrow 3 See you on the trails, Chris Pierce N. Olmsted, 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]