Linda and I managed to find free time this afternoon and headed up to Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area in Wyandot County. The ponds were open but the variety of waterfowl was limited. Multitudes of Canada Geese and Mallards everywhere but beyond that things were less plentiful. Pond 27 had Gadwall (100+), a small number of American Wigeon (10), American Coots (50+), and Tundra Swans (34). The pond along TH-108 had a couple of Trumpeter Swans and Tundra Swans (22). In a flooded depression in the farm field north of the intersection of OH-294 and CH-115 we found a pair of Redheads. Raptors were hit and miss. we found 5 Bald Eagles, 10 Northern Harriers, 8 Red-tailed Hawks, a Cooper's Hawk and many American Kestrels. The field along TH-108 yielded 20+ eastern Meadowlarks. The rest of the normal suspects were scatter about the area including American Tree Sparrows, Horned Larks and Red-winged Blackbirds. At Big Island Wildlife Area in Marion County there were various waterfowl scattered in the ponds. Species included Trumpeter and Tundra Swans, Pintail, American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Black ducks, and American Coots. Raptors included many Northern Harriers (including Steve Jones missing gray males), Bald Eagles and Short-eared Owls. The Short-eareds put on a show soaring over the fields, circling around us and one landed on a small tree right in front of us - Linda's favorite. Charlie B ______________________________________________________________________ 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]