Today Linda joined me at the preserve as I went back to see how the Ruby-throated Hummingbird I've been watching was coming along. Last Tuesday she began creating the base of her nest and this afternoon Linda and I watched her sitting in the nest. The nest is situated out on a branch, about two feet above a creek, with a sprig of leaves over her that provides both shade and camouflage. While at this little piece of Eden I've discovered in the preserve we were able to also watch the closest Prothonotary Warbler coming and going from its cavity in an old stump. Sometimes I think they recognize me after twenty years of working with them. They don't mind my presence and often come extremely close, like hopping between my boots. It’s a different perspective to view a Prothonotary Warbler between your field glasses and your stomach. As we sat there I heard the Northern Parula that has its territory overlapping the Prothonotary‘s. He called and then dropped down and foraged in front of us for about thirty minutes, gathering insects, flying off and returning, time after time. He perched in front of us and sang with his field marks clear to the naked eye, doing a 360 to ensure we didn't miss anything. Several other Prothonotary Warblers with abutting territories sang and flitted about for us to see. It’s nice to have some undisturbed habitat where you can sit and enjoy nature as it should be. Birds seen or heard (H) at this location were: Great Blue Heron Green Heron Red-tailed Hawk (Likely Nesting) Mourning Dove (Nesting) Black-billed Cuckoo (H) (Right over our heads but we couldn't get a clean look) Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Liekly Nesting) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Nesting) Belted Kingfisher (Nesting) Red-bellied Woodpecker (Nesting) Downy Woodpecker (Nesting) Acadian Flycatcher (Nesting) Great Crested Flycatcher (Nesting) Blue Jay (Likely Nesting) Carolina Chickadee (Nesting) Tufted Titmouse (Nesting) White-breasted Nuthatch (Nesting) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Nesting) Wood Thrush (Nesting) American Robin (Nesting) Gray Catbird (Nesting) Cedar Waxwing Warbling Vireo (Likely Nesting) Red-eyed Vireo (Likely Nesting) Northern Parula (Likely Nesting) Yellow-throated Warbler (Likely Nesting) Prothonotary Warbler (Nesting) Louisiana Waterthrush (H) (Likely Nesting) Northern Cardinal (Nesting) Common Grackle (Nesting) Brown-headed Cowbird (UGH) Baltimore Oriole (Likely Nesting) 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]