Today I had the pleasure of hosting the ladies of the Worthington Woman's Club at the preserve. The organization has a number of members that are birders and called themselves "feathers". They schedule a monthly birding field trip and this month they visited the preserve with an objective to see Prothonotary Warblers. 

When the morning began I thought my Prothonotaries were going to disappoint us as although we were hearing them, they were staying out of sight. We could hear them singing in many directions but not a one was coming out. Since many nest sites now have hatchlings I had visions of them shying away from a group of humans armed with binoculars. We walked out on the boardwalk as I have a series of nest boxes along its route and just the day before there were Prothonotaries in plain sight everywhere. This morning not a one which is rare at the preserve. So I switched tactics and took the group into Area N. At first it was more of the same, hear them singing but not seeing them. One suggestion was to make me appreciate their usual cooperativeness more. Then things took a turn for the better as we watched a pair of Prothonotaries bringing food to their nest box and leaving with fecal sacs. The pair put on a continuous show for over 15 minutes before we moved on. Eventually more Prothonotary Warblers began cooperating and showing themselves in their best light. We had males perch on unobstructed branches in the sunlight and sing their hearts out for us. This was what my visitors were here to see. We tallied a decent number of males and females and the ladies got to see several of the Prothonotaries that we have banded at the preserve.

Several other species we observed in Area N include Osprey bringing food to their nest (a natural nest and not a platform) and feed their hatchlings, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Great Crested Flycatchers, Acadian Flycatchers, Red-eyed Vireo and Wood Duck.

I later took the group to a location that enables one to view the nesting Bald Eagles. Usually they are right there in the open to enjoy. Today Murphy's Law ruled. The adults and one of the eaglets were on the far side of the nest tree and could not be seen. The other eaglet was at the edge of the nest but in back of a small branch with many leaves. It sort of played peek-a-boo only letting us see some of it. The Prothonotary Warblers at that location were very vocal and we had them on all four sides.

Now that many resident species are feeding their broods things seem quiet whereas there is plenty to see with a little patience. I guess that is why we call it birding instead of bird watching.
Charlie BombaciHoover nature Preserve


______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]