Longtime friend Jim Fry and I went to Big Island Wildlife Area in Marion County this afternoon to seek a couple of species that had eluded Jim thus far this year. We managed to chase one down and we tallied another species we were not even thinking about, a Sedge Wren. The species we had on our to find list was Common Gallinule. We didn't merely locate a Common Gallinule, but instead we located 7 adults and 21 chicks. These were all in the area along Prospect-LaRue Road. What made this an extra treat was that I was using a new spotting scope in got at the Westerville Wildbirds Unlinited store for the first time. I had my old scope for almost 30 years and my wonderful wife said it was time to treat myself to a new spotting scope. The clarity of the new scope compared to the old scope is like comparing a Lamborghini to a Yugo. Species we observed with young in tow included Pied-billed Grebe, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Common Gallinule and American Coot. The Sedge Wren was in the wetland area off the observation platform off Ohio 95. Dickcissel were also singing near the observation platform. A total list follows. Charlie Bombaci Species list: Pied-billed Grebe & Immatures Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Green Heron Turkey Vulture Canada Goose & Immatures Trumpeter Swan Wood Duck & Immatures Mallard & Immatures Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Common Gallinule & Immatures American Coot & Immatures Killdeer Yellow-billed Cuckoo Belted Kingfisher Eastern Kingbird Blue Jay American Crow Horned Lark Purple Martin Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Carolina Chickadee Sedge Wren American Robin Gray Catbird European Starling Yellow Warbler Common Yellowthroat Song Sparrow Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting Dickcissel Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird American Goldfinch House Sparrow ______________________________________________________________________ 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]