I've been a bit lazy about updating the Franklin County bird list for 2011, mostly because--as expected--new species have only very sloooowly accumulated. We picked up four new species in June, *none* in July, three in August, and thus far in September eight (Henslow's sparrow, buff-breasted/Baird's/western sandpipers, sedge wren, Wilson's/red-necked phalaropes, and black tern). Our total for the year is now 256. It looks like Hoover Reservoir is not going to cooperate with vast stretches of shorebird-attracting mudflats this year, but there and elsewhere we still might find the large shorebirds (avocet, whimbrel, godwits), plus knot and sanderling. Soon we will have Nelson's and LeConte's sparrows, if we can find them, and maybe a yellow rail or a red phalarope. Very possible are laughing and Franklin's gulls, common terns, and white pelicans. A rufous hummingbird would not be too outlandish if folks keep their feeders out until November. Fall is an excellent time for vagrants, but forecasts of course are iffy. Late in fall we'll be hoping for the scarcer loons and grebes, gulls, waterfowl, and we could approach or surpass 280 before the year's out. Please report new birds for the list; an updated version will go up soon at http://www.columbusaudubon.org/production/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=675&Itemid=216 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]