The always-interesting Irish mailing list reports that Hurricane Irene, having swiveled east and now ablow in the British Isles, has generated excited reports of the following local rarities in Irish coastal spots: both yellowlegs, spotted and semipalmated and Baird's and pectoral and buff-breasted sandpipers. We are glad to provide them, and wish these unwilling migrants and their observers the best; at the same time we regret that the prevailing winds in the Atlantic do not permit our Irish colleagues as often to return the favo(u)r! In grimmer news, see http://www.jeaniron.ca/2011/whimbrelmachi.htm , where we learn the fate of migrant shorebirds in allegedly civilized countries in our hemisphere. Here in Ohio most of our wildlife managers do an inadequate job of providing shorebird habitat (our hottest spot this fall was an entirely artificial dumping-ground for dredge spoil from the state's most polluted river), at the same time obliterating other habitats to improve teal hunting. It's interesting to see that when shorebirds are legal to hunt, other governments' agencies find it easy enough to provide habitat for them in migration. If yellowlegs were again legal to hunt here (the Ohio Revised Code still calls them game species, only temporarily disallowed--see ORC 1533.02) would shorebirds overall have a better chance here?? 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]