It is not too early to start collecting data for OBBAII. As if they knew when their safe date began, the ruffed grouse started drumming in earnest over the weekend. I heard three individuals on a 1.5 mile hike. This is the fifth breeding bird block that I have heard or flushed multiple birds. Although these numbers are nothing like the grouse- hunting halcyon days of my youth in the late 70's and early 80's, they are most certainly a huge improvement over the 90's and 00's. Most blocks I have spent time in, that have a reasonable amount of habitat, hold grouse and their numbers appear to increase every year. I also noted some breeding activity in species not expected this early or they at least have a later OBBA safe date. It is important to enter early activity into OBBA as safe dates are or should be fluid as data is collected. A pair of crows have built a nest in a conifer, a full 30 days before their safe-date, next to the main street in Cadiz in the middle of the school bus parking lot. As of today, they have not occupied it. I noticed a male Wood Duck this morning nervously hugging the bank of a woodland pond. Since he did not fly, I assumed there was a female in the area. I could not locate any suitable trees near him and gave up finding her when she flushed from a hole in the root ball of a down tree. Also a full 30 days before safe-date, she was likely scouting nest sites (Which breeding code should I use for this one?). It is notable that she was exploring a site that was a foot above the ground,this low is unusual but not unheard of. At least it is a short fall for her ducklings should she decide to stay. I watched a raging battle between male purple finches vying for the highest perch to sing from. The birds settled into their territories and sang for the entire hour I was in the woods. A full 45 days before safe date and an uncommon breeder this far south, I will record them only if they are present next week. Finally, 4 Swamp Sparrows(safe date 5/25) were singing in a large swampy area on Tappan Lake this morning. They are easy to observe, strongly colored and flashy looking this time of year. A fairly common winter resident (5 on CBC), they are likely here to stay or have been around all along. Do they warrent a T7 if still there next week or will that be a different set flying through? For those of you who have muscled your way through this long post, I hope this generates some discussion on the concept of safe dates. Scott Pendleton ______________________________________________________________________ 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]