I checked several areas in southwest Columbus, mostly old quarries, then visited several areas along the margin of the western suburbs (Hilliard & nearby Dublin) looking for waterfowl & sparrow flocks. The cold overcast seemed to keep bird numbers down, and I had only scattered landbirds. Best waterfowl were around the Haul Rd and Hart Rd quarries, with the latter being much better than the former. Notables included MuteSwans - 1 was at Haul Rd ponds, while 3 were at Hart Rd quarry Ring-necked Ducks - 12-14 at Hart Rd quarry Redheads - 110+ at Hart Rd quarry Buffleheads - 4 were at the Haul Rd ponds Hooded Mergansers - 6 were at Haul Rd ponds, while 40 were at Hart Rd quarry Coots - 5 were with the waterfowl throng at Hart Rd quarry Turkey Vultures - singles soaring over most areas of Hilliard & Dublin Cooper's Hawks - single birds were at Big Run and nearby Prairie Lincoln Woods Gulls - biggest flock was 90 birds at Hart Rd quarry, mostly Ring-bills except for 2 Herring Woodpeckers - Downies & Red-bellies still widespread, found at every stop Horned Larks - still scarce, with only 2 flyovers all morning Tree Sparrows - none, despite being in good habitat much of the morning. Swamp Sparrow - 1 continues to winter in the new riparian marshes along Clover Goff Run at Frank Park in Hilliard Redwings - small flock flew north over Prairie Lincoln Woods; absent from many good marshes ______________________________________________________________________ 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]