While running errands this afternoon I made a few quick stops to check the status of waterfowl. Much of Hoover Reservoir is still iced over but open areas are popping up. The area below the dam is more fit for surfers than for ducks. The water is coming over the dam and out the release pipe with an extremely high force. The spillway directly below the dam and the creek are running high, fast and with debris. The area was sans ducks. In the past week the reservoir has risen from about 5 feet below normal to above normal. With last nights rain it will likely come in multiple feet above normal. Oxbow Road had Canada geese, mallards, American black ducks, red-breasted mergansers, wood ducks, redhead, and ring-necked ducks. The drake red-breasted mergansers were displaying for all they were worth, they would rush forward with their heads low and stretched out then stop and do an over exaggerated head toss. The hens didn't seem overly impressed. The cove at Dustin Road had many Canada geese, 7 wood ducks and over 50 ring-necked ducks. There was a barred owl perched just north of the old road bed near the entrance to Area L. After a brief stare back and forth it flew deeper into the woods. Area I near Lewis Center Road had Canada geese, wood ducks, 4 canvasback and 12 hooded mergansers. I'm sure that with more free time to explore, many additional birds would be found. The areas off the Baldridge Boat Ramp, the boardwalk in Galena, the Redbank Boat Launch and near the Walnut Boat Launch likely will be productive. Charlie Bombaci ______________________________________________________________________ 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]