It may seem unlikely, but avocets occasionally are found swimming out in the middle of a reservoir. This is the experience I and other local birders have had with all four of Clear Fork reservoir's records. With all the boat traffic on most Ohio reservoirs, reservoirs seem like unlikely places to find rare shorebirds. But often when an avocet shows up at a reservoir they are tired and will fly because of an advancing boat, but often circle and return to the water. Good times to look for reservoir avocets in fall are on a day with decent west or northwest winds. Helps if a thunderstorm comes along to bring the birds down to the water. 400 American avocets near Bismarck, North Dakota on 1 August 2017 ! John Herman ______________________________________________________________________ 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]