Today Jim Fry and I managed to get loose for an afternoon of birding. We began at the Alum Creek Park south in Westerville (Franklin County) with the ultra cooperative Eastern Screech Owl. Next we headed over to Hoover Reservoir (Franklin & Delaware Counties) and much to our surprise it was practically void of activity. Near the dam we spotted lone Pied-billed Grebe and American Coot with the only other activity being Mallards and Canada Geese. We stopped at multiple locations along the west shore that usually produce waterfowl but zilch. The writing was on the wall so we turned north and made a run through Killdeer Plains and Big Island Wildlife Areas. Killdeer Plains (Wyandot County) was unusually quiet with hardly any smaller birds moving about. The lone exception being American Trees Sparrows. Not a single Horned Lark to be seen. We did find waterfowl at Pond 27. There we saw many Tundra Swans, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, American Coot and a couple of American Black Ducks along with the expected Mallards and Canada Geese. Along Washburn Road there were two Trumpeter Swans and a disgusted looking Great Blue Heron. We made a circuit of the roads and managed a single Rough-legged Hawk and a couple of Northern Harriers and Bald Eagles. Our last stop was at Big Island Wildlife Area (Marion County). There were multitudes of Canada Geese and Mallards. The light was beginning to fail so ID of some further off ducks wasn't attempted. There was a small group of Tundra Swans and several Northern Harriers were working the fields. Off Prospect-La Rue Road we located 4 Bald eagles including a pair copulating. Our final check was along SR 95 where Short-eared Owls were beginning to take flight. We had one circle the car and put on a dandy aerial show for us. Charlie Bombaci ______________________________________________________________________ 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]