This is not just about Franklin Co, but should be illustrative of movements through early May across the state. New species added to our local county list in the first 2 1/2 days of May are more warblers (bay-breasted, Cape May, Canada, Wilson's) and flycatchers (Acadian, olive-sided, alder) giving us 220 species. We had 258 species in total for last year. There'll be a few more new flycatchers and warblers, some waders, a few sparrows, and a fair number of shorebirds, along with some fall occurrences of new migrant waterbirds, to come, but we had only 21 new species total in the last six months of 2011 here. Many of the new species to come will be in drabber plumages, and most will not be singing, so beginners do not find them as interesting. On the other hand, a lot *more* birds will be moving through Ohio in the second half of the year, including young of the year. Other than routine returning migrants, they will include strayed young birds, vagrants influenced by weather, etc. There are also a lot of species--shorebirds, for example--that move north in spring via strict and narrow migratory routes, but which move south in more flexible and leisurely ways, bringing them to Ohio. In general, spring is time for the routine, and later for the routine plus surprises. If you look for birds only in spring migration, you're missing most of the scene. 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]