Today I had the pleasure to host Dick Dauteuil at  the Hoover Nature
Preserve. Dick is just starting with birding and has a world  of wonders awaiting him.
He recently contacted me to ask exactly where I birded  at the preserve. I
invited him to join me and this morning we headed out to  enjoy what nature had
to offer.

    We began at Area N where I first took Dick along  the old roadbed to
where a bridge used to cross Big Walnut Creek. Here we  observed the Osprey at the
nest platform, multiple Belted Kingfishers and then  noted that the water has
receded enough that the first shorebirds are assembling  off Areas M and N.
The shorebirds there this morning were many Killdeer, about 7  Spotted
Sandpipers, 4 Greater Yellowlegs, about 12 Semipalmated Sandpipers and 6  Pectoral
Sandpipers. In 2005 when the action began in early July we had a  spectacular
shorebird years at Hoover Reservoir. Are we about to experience  another one?

    Next I took Dick off trail to the "Back Forty". The  old roadbed is only
about 5% of Area N and although often good it pales in  comparison to the rest
of the area. We were immediately greeted by a male  Prothonotary Warbler. Not
to be undone, numerous other male Prothonotary  warblers decided to cooperate
and come to sing for us. We tallied about 10  sightings and heard numerous
others. One male gathering insects for its  fledglings came to within 8 feet of
us repeatedly and put on a great  show. Audubon recently reported the decline
in the number of Green Herons.  From their numbers at The Hoover Nature
Preserve you would never know it. We  observed many Green Herons at several
locations including some juveniles that  obviously were from this year's broods. The
Yellow-billed Cuckoos were being  obnoxious today. We could hear them all
around us, some very close, but none  would come into our sight line. Payback for
the one that posed at 10 feet for 15  minutes last week. Flycatchers were
abundant with Acadians, Willow, Great  Crested, Eastern Wood-Pewee and Eastern
Phoebes. We also located several Indigo  Buntings and stopped at the Ruby-throated
Hummingbird's nest.

    Off to Dustin Road (Area L) where we began with the  old roadbed, then
followed Little Walnut Creek. More Prothonotary Warblers,  Green Herons,
shorebirds in the cove, Carolina Wrens that serenaded us, and off  course, more
obnoxious Yellow-billed Cuckoos. As we headed back to the car we  encountered a
racoon that from its behavior was likely rabid. I called it in to  the wildlife
people as it was on the public walking trail. If you ever encounter  a racoon
in daylight, in the middle of the trail, that doesn't run for cover,  beware,
be careful and avoid getting near it. Rabies shots aren't fun. This has  been a
big problem on the east coast and it has spread westward. I don't have
statistics for Ohio, but cases have been occurring in the state.

    After the racoon encounter we decided lunch was the  next rule of order
and stopped at Jules in Galena. After fueling up we next  visited Old Sunbury
Road. Things were quieting down during the afternoon but we  did manage some
good finds. More Prothonotary Warblers along the way. I stopped  and opened a
few boxes to show the nests to Dick. This was a rude reminder that  cleaning 200
plus nest boxes is ahead for me. We returned along the shore  instead of the
old road as the mudflats are forming from Pelican Island south.  This is the
area where the Godwits were in 2005. Today we found Killdeer,
Spotted Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least
Sandpipers and Pectoral Sandpipers on the mudflats and among the Ring-billed  Gulls
on the emerging sand spits we located 8-10 Caspian Terns.

Species we observed today include:
Double-crested Cormorant
Great  Blue  Heron
Green Heron
Canada Goose
Wood   Duck
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-tailed  Hawk
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted   Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral  Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed  Cuckoo (Heard Only)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Nest
Belted   Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy  Woodpecker
Northern  Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian  Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
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
European Starling
Prothonotary Warbler
Northern  Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Song  Sparrow
Common  grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore  Oriole
American  Goldfinch

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



************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

______________________________________________________________________

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]