A northern shrike was back in the fields by the power lines yesterday. I saw it for the hour that I hung out in my yard, watching the 3 tree swallows and 2 bluebirds sort out the preferred nesting sites. Also, a pair of kestrels hunted the same fields. They have been here over a week now, and sometimes use the bluebird houses for perches. 2 Eastern Meadowlarks. First eastern phoebe returned on Sunday, and I saw a brown creeper on the scotch pine yesterday. Still a fox sparrow, lots of tree sparrows and dark eyed juncos. Inga Schmidt from my backyard Chagrin River Road at the Geauga/Cuyahoga Co. line ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]