Howdy, all, Bill -- for reference, my office looks out the front towards the parking lot (though left of, facing out) but is right on the border of the wood and a lot of birds take up right on the border on either the floor or about 15' up in the trees, which is pretty much eye level with my desk. I don't know where you were in the building. For clarification, unless the Phoebe had a horrific accident involving bleach and black dye, this was most definitely a black-and-white Eastern Kingbird, the white tail tip being the distinguishing mark, even at 10 yards or so. To clarify the study, it hung out about 25-30 feet out from my window, 15 or so feet up in the canopy. As cameras are strictly forbidden on the inside of the building and running out of a meeting is in poor taste, I quietly watched the movement, observed the head, the tail and the coloration patterns. Behaviorally, it perched upright, buffeted a bit by the stiff breeze. With very little fanfare, it took off over the top of the building -- probably something to with the frequent Red-shouldered visits. I've photographed many E Kingbirds over the years, as well as Phoebes, so there was no confusion to me and a quick flip through Sibley's as well as iBird2 confirmed the identity. Additionally, the trails offered on this property allow some excellent birding, but as an employee, I'm not sure what the rules are for everyday folks hiking back there. The last trek back in there did reveal a Phoebe (heard not seen), as well as Downies, N Flickers, many E Towhees and sparrows -- Am Tree and Wh Throated. I'm looking forward to nesting season as it seems Piliateds and Red-shouldereds are already scoping out locales. I can check with the security guard to see if it's OK for people to simply come out and view the trails. I'm fairly new there, so I don't know the ins and outs of what you can and can't do, other than no cameras of any sort on the inside. If there are additional questions you have, please let me know. Phil Ware (kon16ov on eBird) -----Original Message----- From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of William Hull Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2013 1:16 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Kingbird RFI Steve, My office is very close to this sighting. In fact, a number of years ago my company used to occupy that building as well and I was based in it. Unfortunately I am not in the office this week and do not recognize the reporter's name so I can't follow up on it. However, that location typically does have wintering and / or early Eastern Phoebe. If no one else follows up I will try to do so next week Cheers, Bill Hull Cincinnati, OH On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 1:00 PM, Steve Landes <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi all, > I just got an eBird alert about an Eastern Kingbird seen yesterday near Milford (Cincinnati). This bird would be a couple of months early, so I am hoping that there are more details available about its ID. The report states that this bird was well studied, but doesn't provide any details on how the bird was distinguished from Eastern Phoebe or other similar species that regularly occur in February. An Eastern Kingbird in February is a noteworthy record in itself, but It would be nice to have information to rule out Gray Kingbird or something really rare. If anyone has any information about this sighting, would you mind contacting me? > Thanks, > Steve > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > 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] ______________________________________________________________________ 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] ______________________________________________________________________ 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]