Some days things just go right. After miss timing the Bald Eagles at the
Westerville nest my last 4 trips they were there when I was today and they
treated me to an aerial courtship flight circling and rolling with their talons
towards each other. Feeling pleased with the experience I headed over to Hoover
Reservoir to work on the Winter Bird Survey for Julie Shieldcastle and the
Black  Swamp Bird Observatory.

At Hoover Reservoir I located 4 more adult Bald eagles and an  immature. A
pair of the eagles in the Oxbow Island area made my day as I watched  another
aerial display as they looped and chased each other about and then did  the
rolling maneuver with extended talons as they passed near each other. I was  happy
with one display but I never expected to catch this behavior twice in one
day.

Waterfowl activity is still slow at Hoover Reservoir with only  scattered
activity. In the southern part of the reservoir I located 2 Mute Swans  off the
Redbank Boat Ramp along with several Pied-billed Grebes and Hooded  Mergansers.
There was a lone Herring Gull near the dam.

Off Oxbow Island in the south cove there were Hooded Mergansers,  Pied-billed
Grebes, 1 Horned Grebe and 4 Northern Shovelers. In the water to the  north
of Oxbow Island I located 13 Northern Shovelers, 2 Pied-billed Grebes, 2  Ruddy
Ducks and several rafts of Hooded Mergansers. Along the east shore I  located
the Bald Eagles who then put on a show. On the island there were
Golden-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers, both in low numbers.

I stopped at Mudhen Marsh and struck out again on the Red-headed  Woodpeckers
who are making themselves scare lately. While there I had a pair of  Mute
Swans fly over heading towards Oxbow Road.

Except for the eagles courtship flights it was a quiet day.

Charlie Bombaci
Hoover Nature Preserve
Delorme 58 C (2) & (3)

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