Northern Hoover Reservoir still sported 3 Little Blue Herons this morning, along with scads of other herons and shorebirds. The flats are unusually expansive for this early date, and it's actually possible to miss large #s of shorebirds that stray far from the waters edge. I stopped at Oxbow Island, Sunbury causeway, Eastside YachtClub mudflats, the Galena Boardwalk, and Wiese Rd access. Highlights included: Great Blue Herons - 45 fairly evenly scattered over the entire northern end Great Egrets - 8, but 6 of those were along the shore north of the Eastside yacht club Little Blue Herons - 2 were north of the Sunbury causeway, while another was along the shore north of the yacht club Green Herons - singles were at Oxbow and the yacht club shore. Kildeer - easily the most common shorebird, with 240+ in 2 hours Semipalmated Plovers - 5, all off the Galena boardwalk (which had the most shorebirds) Spotted Sandpipers - 6, evenly spread out over several sites Solitary Sandpipers - 7, of which 5 were along the shore north of the yacht club Lesser Yellowlegs - 9, evenly spread over several sites Pectoral Sandpipers - 95+, with flocks at the boardwalk and Wiese Rd flats Least Sandpipers - 15+, mostly off the boardwalk Semipalmated Sandpipers - 20+, mostly off the boardwalk Herring Gulls - an early adult & juvenile were on the cobble spit north of the yacht club Caspian Terns - 15 were resting on the sandbar near Pelican Island, north of the yacht club Bald Eagles - 2 adults along the shore north of the yacht club, not far from the nesting area of this past season Osprey - singles at Oxbow, Sunbury causeway, and the Galena boardwalk Yellow-billed cuckoo - 1 calling in the forest adjacent to the Galena boardwalk Red-headed Woodpeckers - a pair were flying around Oxbow Island, while other singles were at the yacht club, the Area M bridge, and the base of the boardwalk Eastern Kingbirds - small groups of 2-4 at several locations Cliff Swallows - still plenty of foragers, and some late nesters under the Galena bridge. Purple Martins - a group of 20 apparently roosted around the boardwalk area Other Swallows - plenty of Barns, and a few Rough-wings and Trees, flying around the mudflats and grassflats ______________________________________________________________________ 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]