Larry Gara and I had a quick look at Cowan Lake and Caesar Creek beach this morning (Thurs, 24 Jul). The shorebird migration is on. The east end of Cowan held some shorebirds, mainly Killdeer and several Least Sandpipers visible from the east end boat ramp. A scope is necessary. Might be a little better from the Lotus Cove overlook. There were also two Great Egrets and two Great Blue Herons. The spillway is in very good condition. We had six Spotted Sandpipers, three Leasts, a Semipalmated Sandpiper and about 40 Killdeer, as well as a cloud of Northern Rough-winged Swallows. We dropped in at the Caesar Creek beach for a quick look (15 minutes). Among the hundred or so Ring-billed Gulls was a Laughing Gull. Big bill, big eye crescents, as large as the ring-bills, hefty build. See eBird report for more detail. Larry went back out to the beach after lunch, but the gulls were gone. Humans were using that end of the beach. Cheers, Bob -- Robert D Powell Congress Farm Research Institute Wilmington, OH, USA [log in to unmask] Nulla dies sine aves ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]