Larry Jeanblanc, Julie Karlson, and I birded at Buck Creek State Park this morning. At the south end of the lake there were a few ducks including a single female Black Scoter along with Ruddy Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, a couple Buffleheads, and some Common Loons. Later we were walking some of the horsemen trails and a Peregrine Falcon flew over. In the pines along Grant Road there are lots of Red-breasted Nuthatches. We saw at least 15 this morning. At the north end of the lake there are extensive mudflats but a limited variety of shorebirds. There were over 250 Killdeer, a few Dunlins, and a Greater Yellowlegs. There were also many Bonaparte's Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, and a few Herring Gulls. While watching the Killdeer a Merlin showed up and started chasing a Killdeer. All of the Killdeer flushed. The Merlin hit one of the Killdeer and knocked it to the ground but didn't kill it. It just left it and landed in a tree at the edge of the lake. A few minutes later we saw it again and it landed in a tree closer to us and we got great looks at it through the scope. News from outside Ohio. Larry Jeanblanc, Julie Karlson, and I spent a few days birding in Cape May and found a leucistic Yellow-rumped Warbler. It was very striking. It was all white except for the yellow spots on the head, sides, and rump. I have placed some pictures of the bird on our Audubon website at www.clarkcountyohioaudubon.org. Doug Overacker Springfield, Ohio ______________________________________________________________________ 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]