Headed to Gordon Park right after school today. Saw a Red Fox on Lakeshore Blvd just 100 yds west of on ramp to 90 @ 2:25. 2:32 @ Gordon Park 77* (doesn't feel it) with strong winds from west and south. As i pull into the parking lot I see a flock of White-throated Sparrows - 23 foraging in the grass just east of the ICYC In the bay area (water/bay/air) American Coot - 1 Greater Scaup - 1 Barn Swallows - 15-ish Red-breasted Mergansers - 24 Great Crested Cormorants - 11 Canada Geese - 16 Ring-billed Gulls - 40-ish Mallards - 2 Northern Rough-wing Swallows - 2 Robins - Cowbirds - Red-winged BBs everywhere @2:50 to west side of ICYC (rain and wind picking up considerably and chilling temps) Coot - 1 Barn Swallows - 50+ Open water 50-ish RBMs Hard rain/Strong winds end visit After a brief visit to a local college I forgo racquetball after reading all of the alerts posted today and head to Mentor Headlands - I arrive a little before 5:45 to see that the roads in are locked up and closed. I decide to check out the lagoon first - South Pond/Lagoon Buffleheads - 2 Canada Geese - 2 North Pond/Lagoon American Coots - 12 Buffleheads - 7 At 6:05 with temps warming to 78* and winds calming a bit I decide to see where the Zimmerman Trail leads. Here is a list of the various birds encountered during the next 2 MUDDY hours of peace and solitude. (this trail basically is the "rim" trail that borders the marsh to the north and moving westward - i suggest it to all!) Tufted Titmouse - many/non-stop House Wren - 1 Northern Flickers - 20+ Chimney Swifts - 10+ Red-winged Blackbirds - TONS Black-capped Chickadees - 12ish (not many) Hairy Woodpeckers - 5 Goldfinches - 20ish Northern Rough-winged Swallows - 2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers - 8 Song Sparrows - 7 White-crowned Sparrows - 33 Green Heron - 1 Great Blue Heron - 1 Tennassee Warbler - 5 Brown-headed Cowbirds - 20ish Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1 Dark-eyed Juncos - 8 Hermit Thrushes - 6 Downy Woodpeckers - 3 Unknown Hawk chasing Cowbird (Coopers most likely) American Bittern - 1 Veery - 5 White-throated Sparrow - 17 Palm Warbler - 6 Yellow-rumped Warbler - 4 Wood Duck - 3 Eastern Bluebird - 1 Brown Creeper - 1 Belted Kingfisher - 1 out of wood on street saw a flock of 20+ Tree Swallows Encountered White-tailed Deer - 20+ Beaver - 2 Muskrat - 1 Saw first Skunk Cabbage of the year! I highly recommend this trail! Muddy, up and down but its location butting up againt Mentor Marsh is great!! buster ______________________________________________________________________ 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]