This morning Shaune Skinner and I set sail on the HMS Hoover to monitor a section of the eastern shore for Prothonotary Warblers. We had a successful day locating numerous territories and enjoying the show put on for us by some ultra bright males. We covered the shore from Twin Birdges at Redbank Road south to Lake of the Woods, checking the nooks and crannies along the way. The eastern shore of Hoover Reservoir is mostly undeveloped and has lazy backwaters with habitat ideal for the Prothonotary Warblers. These areas always mix in a variety of other species with some unexpected bonuses for us.

Today's big surprise was a juvenile Black-crown Night Heron. It was perched in a black willow tree and upon our approach it climbed further up into the tree. The little inlet we found the night heron in also yielded Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and a Mallard hen with her brood trailing behind.

We observed 7 Belted Kingfishers along our route including a male with a fish in his bill. He played coy for a time as we worked the general area. As we drifted away from the bank he flew down and straight into the nest cavity in the earthen bank and came out sans the fish.

We observed an interesting behavior by a pair of Herring Gulls. They were drifting in the middle of the reservoir and sounding off constantly, opening their beaks and calling loudly. I am not aware of any similar behavior at Hoover Reservoir or any other central Ohio inland body of water. The behavior was not merely gulls calling, but it seemed to be like a rite between the two.

Osprey are becoming regulars at Hoover Reservoir. There are the two pairs nesting on the platforms at Area M in Galena; a pair nesting on a cell phone tower north of SR 3 along Little Walnut Creek; and 2 to 4 others constantly observed in the southern section of Hoover Reservoir. Previously we located a natural Osprey nest in a tree near White-tail Deer Island. That tree went down in a storm and we have not located a new location for the pair.

We located a new Red-headed Woodpecker nest bringing to 27 the number of active Red-headed Woodpecker nests identified around Hoover Reservoir.

We had a pleasant day with 56 species, good weather and good company.

Charlie BombaciHoover Nature Preserve

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