This morning at about 11 am there was a brown thrasher singing along the railroad tracks just south of Jaite. I had to detour off the Buckeye trail to the tracks because of a swampy area on the trail. I was lucky to see and hear the thrasher because of the detour. At about 11:30 am I ate my lunch in my car next to the small pond in front of the Coonrad Ranger Station a little bit farther south. There was a male bufflehead in the pond. It took off when I parked; but, it soon returned. There were also the usual birds in that area: The red-tailed hawk hunting in the fields just north of Jaite. The red-tailed hawk on the power lines towers near the ranger station. Turkey vultures circling above the hills near the ranger station. Red-winged blackbirds where the males hover over you and chirp as you hike by their territories. Two flickers calling very loudly near the pond. One Canadian goose near the pond. A tree swallow flying around the pond and skimming it to take a quick drink. I also saw my first dragonfly of the spring near the pond. (Green darner, I think.) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]