This morning dawned like March 29th, 58 degrees and a strong, gusty wind. It's nice to dispense with the long underwear for outside work, at least for a day. After chores we took our usual hike around the fields and forest. Overhead crows checking out the recently harvested cornfield across the road were almost flying backwards in the gusts. In the forested ravines the birds were hugging the ground, coping with the wind. A small group of six or so golden-crowned kinglets flitted around us quite low for once, affording decent views, even without my binoculars, which I forgot this morning. My naked eye caught the sight of a woodpecker, larger than a downy but not quite looking right for a hairy. Then I recognized the bold facial pattern. A sapsucker! We see them around here, but only occasionally. I consider them the elusive "seventh" woodpecker of our "yard," 57 acres of upland fields and forested ravines. Downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers are downright common, coming to our suet often. We hear and see pileated woodpeckers in the deeper forest regularly, and flickers are often anting in the fields. Red-headed woodpeckers make appearances half a dozen times each year. Sapsuckers only once or twice, so it is always noteworthy. The juncos have been around for a month, but they have yet to start frequenting the ground under our feeders; even during the recent snow and freeze. There must be enough seeds in the grass of the fields and the leaf litter of the forest to sustain them. Bob Evans Geologist, etc. Hopewell Township, Muskingum County PS: Some readers may be interested in an article appearing yesterday in the Columbus Dispatch, featuring adjunct scientific work (largely biological) I spearheaded this past summer in association with the recovery of treasure from the deep-sea shipwreck of the S.S. Central America. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/11/23/scientific-gold.html ______________________________________________________________________ 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]