This is prime time for this rarely-seen bird. Troy Shively just called to report he'd visited the Mercer County site where dozens were found by a few doughty explorers, then seen by many, last year. The fields had been plowed. This seems to be the case across the state, where favorable conditions have enabled farmers to plow early. The other day Laura and I cruised some back roads in SW Franklin County (DeL 68:B-1), looking for Smith's longspurs. These roads, decades ago, routinely hosted as many as 200 Smith's on April days in adjacent fields, but were eventually abandoned by birders (if not the birds?) and have received precious little attention for the last thirty years. Things have not changed all that much out there, it seemed. There were a number of promising-looking spots: fields still unplowed, with plenty of matted weedy material among the cornstalks. One huge tract along the north side of Zuber Rd where it zigzags N/S, not a corn field, was especially interesting, but some unanticipated traffic (these roads are deserted most of the time), prevented a careful look. I offer this potentially fruitful area for the adventurous over the next week or two (other good roads in the area are Young and Seeds). These are all close to exit 97 on I-71. Smith's are showing alternate plumage now. Good luck to all, Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ 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]