Ontario birders may want to prepare for the possibility that Hurricane Isabel may strike the Great Lakes. The storm is predicted to strike the Outer Banks of North Carolina late Thursday, then head inland to Lake Erie. If this happens there may be some excellent birding opportunities, similar to what happened in September 1996 with Hurricane Fran. A few points to keep in mind if Isabel reaches the Great Lakes: -- most rarities are found EAST of the storm's centre; -- few rarities are found while the storm is still raging; instead, many (most?) are found 1-3 days after the storm's passage (and often many days thereafter) -- walking beaches often turns up dead mega-rarities. The following web site provides an excellent update and images of Hurricane Isabel: http://www.instaweather.com/hurricane/ To see what might happen, click both "Track" and "Warnings" (to the left of the Map). Alan Wormington, Leamington ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Alan Wormington <wormington@juno.com> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.