2 Oct. 2012 7 am - 11 am SW shore Hoover Reservoir (40.121551,-82.885217), Franklin County David and Patty Tan Comments:Patty and I decided to take advantage of the poor weather and look in the south end of Hoover Reservoir hoping to take advantage of the oft reported Franklin's Gulls at many locations.. In four hours, we experienced rain and dark passing weather systems but view birds. However, during the first two hours we noted and observed we a 1st cycle Laughing Gull which came from the N. moving liesurely S along the W shore and just after 10 am an ad. Great Black-backed Gull came into view from behind a deciduous stand patrolling the W shore, activating a number of roosting RBGU's. Lots of RBGU's were loafing on rocky spits but unfortunately no Franklin's (although the Laughing, one of 100's of thousand's I've seen, may have been a rarer sp.) Common Loon 1 Horned Grebe 1 DCCO 35 TV 27 Osprey 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Red-tailed Hawk 1 (juv.) LAUGHING GULL 1 1st cycle Flying south, as close as 120 ft., at 60 - 75 ft, (near eye level due to elevated position), continuing to approach us, eventually wheeling, landing among a loafing group of Ring-billed's. An overall, slender, proportionately long winged, buoyant gull, long necked and head, relatively long drooping black bill. Plumage a mixture of white (lower body, leading edge of underwings). grays, brown and blackish. Complex blackish (stand out) streaks, wash on head, behind eye, over crown, mixing with the overall smudgy gray-brown nape, neck, breast and upper flanks. Obvious white rump and base of tail, the outer third with a band to the tip and from edge to edge. Gray-brown mantle, blackish flight feathers; blackish to dusky gray flight feathers distinctive from below. It stayed < a minute with the Ring-billed, seemed anxious and uncomfortable, pacing and picking at the water edge. Legs long black. Unlike Franklin's which always appears clean and fresh, its long legs, dirty, smudgy gray brown plumage, extensive black p's from below and wide edge to edge tail band and its lanky size and long wings approaching Ring-billed clearly pointed to Laughing. It lacked the dainty white, hooded pale underwinged look of FRGU. Ring-billed Gull 220 (all ad.) Herring Gull (all adults) GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL Ad. (at least 4 or 5 years old). Patty spotted it cruising the shoreline, looking for something to kill. Massive, heavy, powerful. White. Virtually black upperparts, white rump, tail, and virtually white head. Broad, wide, wings, white trailing edge, and complex black and white outer p's, as much white as black. Pink legs. Massive head and breast built for swallowing anything of = or < size, small eye, deep, bulbous bill, greenish with red spot. A real burgomaster. 2 pm (two hours) DCGW, Franklin TV 33 Northern Harrier 2 Cooper;s Hawk 2 Red-tailed Hawk 3 Mourning Dove 220 COMMON NIGHTHAWK 12 irst one, then three, then a dozen together flying on long bend wings high over the trail. Seemed to be feeding on high flying insects. Late Red-headed Woodpecker 5 Merlin 2 Marsh Wren 1 INDIGO BUNTING 1 male Rusty Blackbird 12 David Tan [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ 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]