Today I hosted Gary Moon at the Hoover Nature Preserve. Gary is a recent addition to our wonderful obsession, birding. I took Gary to various locations within the preserve to acclimate him to the preserve’s layout. We added some nice birds to Gary’s life list and we did it with style. Of course I made sure to include the Prothonotary Warblers. Today we were satisfied with 18 as compared to yesterday’s 45 observed. But I would have to rate the following as highlights for the day: (1) at the third pond at Hoover Meadows we caught an American Bittern in the open. It immediately took the classic pose and lifted its head skyward to try to blend in with the grasses and reeds. It eventually slipped a little further into the reeds and crouched. On our way back we again located and watched it. (2) in Area N we watched a Ruby-throated Hummingbird working on its nest construction. What had been merely the base on the tree branch yesterday is already about a 75 percent completed nest. She would bring in material, strategically place it and then settle in the nest and shape the material into place, then head off for more material. (3) a male Northern Parula that worked a low branch of a Sycamore tree in front of us. It had really rich colors and Gary got a good look at the olive-green saddle on its back. (4) Prothonotary Warblers coming and going from several of the natural cavities. An added bonus from the last was my locating several new natural cavity Prothonotary Warbler nest sites bringing this year’s current total territories up to 131 at the preserve. Some species of interest observed included: Double-crested Cormorant AMERICAN BITTERN Great Blue Heron Green Heron Wood Duck Osprey Ruby-throated Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher Acadian Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Cliff Swallow Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Cedar Waxwing Warbling Vireo Northern Parula Prothonotary Warbler Baltimore Oriole 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]