Please add Athens County to the list for White-winged Crossbill sightings this season! During the last week or so I've heard what I suspected to be their flight calls when I've been out walking during my lunch break, but having only ever heard the call via recordings (not in real life), I was hesitant to identify them strictly by ear. Today I decided to check one of the cemeteries in town, which is practically a stone's throw away from where I work, and lo and behold, they were there. My ears had not deceived me! Looking back on the experience, it was as if I was drawn like a magnet straight to the hemlock where they were foraging. I was expecting to find them in the tree tops, so that's where in the trees I was looking for movement from afar. As I approached the hemlock, I could hear the splitting of cones, and it didn't take much effort to locate them visually, as they were right at eye level. I counted 6 individual birds, both male and female. A little while after the initial sighting something startled them out of the tree, and I estimate the size of the flock that flew out at around 15 individuals. They flew off into the top of another very tall conifer that I was not able to identify by species. I checked the same tree again after work, but they were not present there, nor anywhere else in the cemetery that I checked. However, a small flock of Dark-eyed Juncos did come into the tree. Since I have heard them on more than one occasion, I have no doubt that they will be around for at least a little while longer. The location was Athens Cemetery, which is at the intersection of West Union St and South Shafer St in Athens. Other birds of note during my quick visits there today: a Yellow-bellied Sapsacker landed in an ornamental conifer that I couldn't identify (sorry, I'm not great with trees), which is obviously a reliable tree for this woodpecker, as there were a number of sap well lines drilled in a portion of the trunk; also, a Cooper's Hawk flew the length of the cemetery this evening, causing a bit of a stir among a large gathering of starlings; finally, a small "flock" of Killdeer flew overhead, headed (presumably) for the Hocking River. Good birding, Heather Aubke Albany, OH (Athens County) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]