Walked through about half the new wetlands yesterday afternoon. Since afternoon light is best, heat prevented a full survey. Like many other spots these days, ideal shorebird habitat is at a premium. Only the large bodies of water remain, and puddles and mudflats are dried up. Waterfowl were limited to mallards, b-w teal, and shovelers, all of which recently nested here, with flotillas of young. Shorebirds were found in shallow spots in the large ponds (but they seemed to be loafing rather than feeding, and were therefore awfully spooky), and a wet corner of a cornfield just to the north along the bike trail actually provided the best variety, as well as viewing, where over a hundred birds were feeding hungrily. Totals: killdeer 190 pectoral sp 115 lesser yellowlegs 101 greater yellowlegs 5 least sp 6 spotted sp 2 solitary sp 7 semipalmated sp 2 This area is in a nascent state, having been planted in corn through last year. A good stock of food that allows migrants to stop and load up before moving on seems not yet present. Food for shorebirds that is: while we were counting a flock of 90 yellowlegs standing in one pond, a peregrine falcon strafed the area, dispersing all of them. The area may even be visible from the tower-top nest of the downtown falcon pair. This area was planted in wheat during spring, but now a lot of native prairie plants have emerged, so little muddy puddles and stretches of shallow water are both hard to find and less attractive to shorebirds. There are some new tracts of cattail, but they've dried out a bit. As this area matures a more natural shorebird regime will set in. Trails are planned, so birding should be easier. Dragonflies were thick as thieves along the bike trail a few hundred yards south of the Kuhlwein Rd marsh, and a few hundred yards further is the very productive shorebird feeding area mentioned above, which abuts a rural back yard. Good birding to all, 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]