Today I did atlas work in my Block 58C3NW. Linda joined me as she wanted to  
see how the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird was progressing. She’s still sitting on  
the nest waiting for the blessed event. If my calculations are correct she  
should hatch her eggs this weekend or early next week. She has lots of company  
in the maternity ward as there are birds incubating or feeding  hatchlings  
and fledglings everywhere. I discovered yet another Prothonotary Warbler nest  
cavity today, bring the year’s total to 147. 
 
Highlights for the day included locating a Hooded Merganser  hen with  
fledglings. This is the second Hooded Merganser I have located with fledglings  this 
year. They are in separate blocks about 5 miles apart. I am aware of 2  other 
reports of nesting Hooded Mergansers in Delaware County this year, one is  
near Olive Green and the other near Alum Creek north of Route 37. The four  
confirmed sightings make me wonder if the species is expanding its nesting  
southward.
 
My next item Linda doesn't think qualifies as a highlight. We were walking  
along Big Walnut Creek when we observed a Mallard hen with 6 ducklings. One  
duckling wandered from the rest and then suddenly began running along the water  
and then down came a Cooper’s Hawk that snatched the duckling off the water 
and  banked into the woods. This was a well advanced duckling and bigger than I 
would  have expected a Cooper’s Hawk to pursue. 
 
Linda was hoping to see a cuckoo as I have been seeing and hearing them  
constantly at the preserve. During the first 2 hours we heard about 15  
Yellow-billed Cuckoos and got fleeting views of about 3. Then as we returned to  the car 
and were within sight of it I stopped Linda and pointed right ahead as a  
Yellow-billed Cuckoo came out onto a branch 10 feet in front of us and began  
feeding on caterpillars. It stayed in the open and fed for a good 10 minutes  
before moving into thicker foliage. 
 
After things seemed to be slowing down with the Prothonotary Warblers, they  
were active today with about 15 males vocalizing in the area we were in. 
Several  provided us with great views including the newly discovered nest cavity 
where we  watched the adults coming and going with offerings for the hatchlings. 
The dead  tree had two close openings, one above the other. The adult male 
would enter the  lower and exit the upper, whereas the females entered and 
exited from the lower  opening. 
 
Birds observed with or feeding their young included Canada Geese, Wood  
Ducks, Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Cooper’s Hawk, Downy Woodpecker, Northern  
Flicker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Tree Swallow, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren,  
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Robin, Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Cardinal,  and 
Song Sparrow.
 
Birds observed included:
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Canada  Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Cooper’s  Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Mourning  Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted  Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy  Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated  Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Willow  Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Tree  Swallow
Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow
Blue Jay American Crow
Carolina  Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina  Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Wood Thrush
American  Robin
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
European Starling
Warbling  Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Prothonotary  Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Song Sparrow
Red-winged  Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore  Oriole
American Goldfinch
 
Charlie Bombaci
Hoover Nature Preserve
Delorme 58 C (2) &  (3)
Block 58C3NW
 
 



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