Cookie (my birding dog) and I checked out Black Hand Gorge this morning. First, we checked the wetlands adjacent to the main entrance of the refuge. It was about 1/3 open water, with a few waterfowl. Other than a couple of wood ducks on the river and some Canadas, all the waterfowl listed were at the wetlands. When we first arrived, the woodpeckers were drumming wildly, all over the place. However, I wasn’t able to spot who was making all that noise. Something that I have never seen before, is a turkey vulture bathing. I’ve seen a lot of other birds flopping in the water, splashing water on wings, with wings, etc., but to see a turkey vulture do that was surprising to me. Two were up on the bank, with wings spread, drying in the sun. That I’ve seen before, usually after a rain. When finished splashing around in the water, the third moved up onto the bank and spread its wings, too. One of the bald eagles was on the nest; the other was seen in the general area, but moved around some. On the way home, I checked out the heron rookery, on Owens Corning property but viewable from the church parking lot on Cedar Run Road. There were 11 herons in the tree and/or on nests, the first I’ve seen at the rookery this spring. Species seen at BHG or the adjacent wetlands, with a few notes: Pied-billed grebe Canada goose Wood duck American widgeon Mallard Northern pintail Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked duck Turkey vulture – one bathing in the river; two on the edge of the river with wings spread, drying in the sun. Getting ready for Thursday? Bald eagle Red-shouldered hawk – carrying some kind of prey out of the buttonbush swamp – second time I’ve seen this hawk in this location recently American coot Killdeer Mourning dove Belted kingfisher Red-bellied woodpecker Downy woodpecker Hairy woodpecker – Licking Co. bird #59 for March 2007 Pileated woodpecker Eastern phoebe – three – two calling – Licking Co. bird # 60 for March 2007 Tree swallow Carolina wren American robin Carolina chickadee Tufted titmouse White-breasted nuthatch Brown creeper Blue jay American crow European starling American goldfinch Song sparrow – singing everywhere – what a welcome sound! White-throated sparrow Dark-eyed junco Northern cardinal Red-winged blackbird Common grackle Brown-headed cowbird The weather was wonderful, and the birds were fairly numerous, both in overall numbers and species. We walked the eastern 2 ½ miles of the Black Hand Gorge bike path after checking out the wetlands. Margaret Bowman Licking Co., OH ______________________________________________________________________ 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]