The recent discovery of 2-3 Nelson's sparrows is a wonder. I checked histograms of departure and arrival dates on the wintering and breeding grounds, and they are expected to leave their wintering grounds along the coast from southern new England in mid-May and by early May in South Texas, then arrive in Canada's prairie marshes in late May or early June. Such has been our understanding for 150 years, anyway. Peterjohn (p 502) writes of Ohio that they were 'largely undetected' here before 1960, and have been accidental migrants away from the Lakefront. Ohio is a fly-over along the northern portion of the migratory pathway, with probably only a smidgen of them passing through here (see the maps). As for their distribution in the state, it makes sense that migrating marsh birds that prefer, other things being equal, to fly over terra firma can be expected to concentrate in Lake Erie's wetlands. Peterjohn considers Ohio's earliest confirmed report one from 8-9 May, with most reports having come from 15-28 May. A report of sharp-tails at an inland marsh on 22-23 March is doubly stunning. I know we've had an extraordinarily early "spring" (quot marks in view of a low of 31 degrees F forecast for Monday night in Funk), and I know birds that winter mostly in the US, like this one, are more likely to respond to encouraging US weather with early departures, but to have these birds in an inland marsh ~TWO MONTHS ahead of their normal schedule tests the limits of imagination. If they reach the breeding grounds two months early, will they survive? Will they stay here for a while? If the weather remains warm, will they stay to raise another brood up north? Do only a small number of individuals migrate so early, seeking an advantage by testing the harsh realities of early spring? Have they been doing this for thousands of years, and only recently have we noticed it? Is there some rogue chemical in the water? If any readers have plausible theories, please share... 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]