Battelle Darby wetlands, Teal pond.-- Sat. 10/10, 7 - 10 a.m. Around 8 a.m., we had superb views of a classic COMMON GROUND-DOVE , a flyby, distinctive and its diagnostic features studied for about a minute as it passed us southbound, while near the center of Teal. Direct and straight in flight, with a wingspan scarcely longer than its body lenght, it flew low above the tall rushes on the western side, its red wing pattern flashed and flickered dramatically in contrast to a pale gray body and mantle, the emerging sun behind us affording perfect light. Unfortunately, it passed and continued south out of sight beyond the MP entrance. A tiny distinctive dove (smaller and shorter than a bluebird) with a fat and deep body and a relatively large head, a pinkish breast, and unmarked back. This combined with its distinctive wing and tail shape, size and pattern render it a fairly easy identification. Details will follow to committee; this is a species I've seen many many times. CGDO has a distinguished history of vagrancy (on the Atlantic coast and in the Great Lakes Region), a clear pattern of timing for which Oct. is peak. In the past few years there appear to be at least eight records around Erie and Upper Great Lakes (all 10/2 - 11/6 except one, Aug.): MI, two (Tawas Pt., 11/2 - 30/10; Whitefish Pt., Chipawa, 10/2 - 30/10), MN, 2 (Beaver Bay, 10/17/04 and Hyland Lake Park Reserve, 10/19 - 20/10), ONT, 2 (Thunder Cape Bird Observatory, Thunder Bay, 8/14/02;Long Point, Norfolk, 11/1/2008), PA (Presque Isle, Erie, 10/19/85) and OH, 1 (Jaite, Cuyahoga, 11/6/99). David Tan Columbus [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ 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]