I waited to post from the Hoover Nature Preserve as I expected to survey for Prothonotary Warbler territories by boat today. Thursday I conducted a thorough land survey in multiple areas of the preserve and the plan was to combine that with today’s water survey. But the best plans go awry. We launch the boat on schedule and everything seemed to be in order as we quickly located the first warblers, then ….. we went dead in the water. The motor quit and wasn’t about to start again. So we floated as we devised plan B, get to shore! The boat survey was done, end of story.
During the time we were under power we managed to find some birds of interest including the Osprey from a second nest now on Hoover Reservoir. One of the pair from the platform at Area M came into their territory and the Battle of Britain Hoover Reservoir style was on. We watched the three birds until peace was restored. We observed 5 Spotted Sandpipers north of the Sunbury Road Bridge. During the last several years while working on the OBBA II block I confirmed their nesting status at Hoover. Under the bridges at Twin Bridges Boat Launch (Red Bank Road) and the Sunbury Road Bridge there are good size colonies of nesting Cliff Swallows. As we exited the Twin Bridges Boat Launch we observed Bank Swallows as they entered and exited from their nest sites along the steep banks of the reservoir in that area.
After we managed to get the boat to shore (thanks EG for your help) our captain headed for her dry dock to figure out what happened and why. I and the other member of the crew rather than be totally unproductive, headed to Area N to check on the Prothonotary Warblers and census what else was around.   
Thursday and Friday’s tally was over 100 Prothonotary Warblers with the majority being males. The first females weren’t observed until Thursday but they are already pairing with the males.  
Charlie Bombaci
Hoover Nature Preserve
 
Some of the species were:
Double-crested Cormorant
Osprey
Spotted Sandpiper
Yellow- billed Cuckoo 
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-headed Woodpecker
Eastern Wood- pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red- eyed Vireo
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Veery
Swainson’s Thrush
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Yellow- throated Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
 



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