Biking has been good this summer, but the birds have been pretty predictable lately, so yesterday's ride was a bit of a surprise. The usual summer birds were encountered throughout most of the 35 miles in Cuyahoga, Lorain and Medina Counties, but the strech of Island Rd. form the inersection of Capel Rd. south was pretty good: Hill Spaulding Ditch, Lorain, US-OH (Island Rd.) Jul 15, 2012 8:15 AM Canada Goose 20 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 heard calling Virginia Rail 1 In ditch on east side of road. Saw 3 times. Killdeer 1 Mourning Dove 3 Chimney Swift 2 Barn Swallow 10 Common Yellowthroat 1 Savannah Sparrow 5 Song Sparrow 1 Red-Winged Blackbirds 6 The Rail was in the Hill Spaulding Ditch on the east side and I got some great views of it out in the open for extended times before it would retreat into the tall grass. It made for a great morning ride. See you on the trails, Chris Pierce N. Olmsted, OH ______________________________________________________________________ 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]