The Shrum Mound is a prehistoric site in Columbus maintained by the Ohio Historical Society. Its sacred grounds provide good looks at an island in an old limestone quarry filled with scummy water. In recent years, the craggy island has hosted many nests of wading and diving birds who relish its wooded slopes. Censusing the island's birds is tough, involving some rough terrain on the west side, but from the east today the following nests were easily observed, and modest estimates of the unseen side were made, based on previous visits to that side: ~ 50 great blue heron nests ~ 70 d-c cormorant nests ~ 10 great egret nests This is one of the very small number of undisturbed substantial wooded islands in the interior of Ohio, which often invite nests of water birds. Also present was the pair of herring gulls whose nest failed last year; beyond being very chummy, they showed no obvious signs of nesting so far this year, but they seem to be ready to go if conditions are right for a record-making event. Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ 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]