Taking a vacation day from work today, paid off!!! On our arrival at "The Sandspit" at about 7:15AM, gulls and Caspian Terns were the only birds initially seen. Craig Holt and Ryan Gotterman had arrived before us and said things were slow. Remarkably at 7:20AM, just five minutes later, lo and behold, three gorgeous American Avocets, still in breeding plumage, appeared to all of our amazement!!! It is presently 8:00AM, raining hard with lightning. The Avocets are still here, and now we also have Semipalmated Plover, Sanderlings, and Least Sandpipers. We will give another report later. Bob and Denise Lane ______________________________________________________________________ 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]