Sod farms abut Battelle-Darby Ck MP, and can be scoped from the Park without risking the road traffic. Some of its trails overlook large sod lawns on the estate west of Darby Creek Drive, and some corn fields have recently been converted to sod on the south side of Kuhlwein Rd just east of Park property. In my experience the fairly rarely-seen buff-breasted SPs seem to prefer a couple of inches of grass, so they can crane their necks and peer about without being too exposed. This makes them less likely at the farms with grass no longer than the felt on a pool-table. Airports in the vicinity--Darby Dan (view from quiet Murnan Rd) and Bolton Field (view from pkg lot & Johnson Rd & Alkire) have longer grass than the pool-table-felt sod farms, which may suit the birds better even if you can't see their toes. The private airport on the east side of the park may be visible from Alton Rd., I don't know; it's a place where I'd seek permission first if conditions were good. Airport staff sometimes object to birders peering therein; the Bolton folks are more used to that after many years. Every county in the state has a public airport, and in the less populous counties grass away from the runways can be good, and the staff might even direct you to good habitat for birds, or not...most people will be more likely to put up with your strange pursuit if you honor their work and responsibilities. Bill Whan Columbus p.s. In my memory, the largest number of buffies I've seen in Ohio was at the east (far) side of the estuary just west of Sheldon Marsh, when a dozen or more strayed in the narrow strip of dried mud and grass that the changing water level provided that fall. ______________________________________________________________________ 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]