Thirteen years ago, I wrote a little article entitled "Accidental Habitats, Benign Neglect: Shorebirds in Ohio." It pointed out that shorebird species on Ohio's list numbered 47, more than any other group of birds, and lamented that hardly anyone managed stopover spots for them, and that few of their existing natural migratory habitats have been allowed to persist. The numbers of shorebirds being found this fall may be the best we've seen since that day. A lot of them are here for incidental reasons: breeding success in the Arctic has apparently been much better than usual, largely due to climate warming. Daring birds arriving first at the breeding grounds were rewarded, food sources such as insects were prolific, and we have surviving adults and extra juveniles migrating as a result. Given climate trends, this may continue in years to come...at least until continuing climate warming may start to work against shorebird breeding success. The numbers of local stopover habitats for shorebirds have also been exceptionally good. Lake Erie levels are down, and especially in the northwest the few watercourses still allowed to connect to the Lake are down as well: think of the Huron River, the Chaussee, the Crane Creek estuary. Ohio is blessed with few natural lakes, but reservoirs--such as Hoover, Mosquito, Ladue, Berlin, etc.--have low water and many more mudflats than usual. Even Division of Wildlife properties--where shorebirds have low management priority--are attracting more migrants. Drought has even drawn down bodies of water like rivers, widening banks, exposing gravel bars, etc. All of these natural changes in water levels have benefited migrant shorebirds. The City of Columbus, for example, is taking out its dams, and the removal of the first of them has already produced new shorebird sightings. Most rewarding of all has been new awareness of shorebirds and their habitats, and intentional efforts to attract them. Federal properties such as Ottawa have newly been managed to benefit these long-distance migrants. Enlightened city and county park systems have built shallow wetlands into their plans--think of the many new records here in the Franklin County Metro Parks, or more established spots in the Lorain County system like Sandy Ridge. And finally there are the usual Lakeside spots, like the harbors at Lorain and Conneaut, where human activities have benefited shorebirds without the slightest intention to do so. Let's enjoy these prodigious travelers while we can, and wish them well. 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]