Today I had the pleasure to host Dick Dauteuil at the Hoover Nature Preserve. Dick is just starting with birding and has a world of wonders awaiting him. He recently contacted me to ask exactly where I birded at the preserve. I invited him to join me and this morning we headed out to enjoy what nature had to offer. We began at Area N where I first took Dick along the old roadbed to where a bridge used to cross Big Walnut Creek. Here we observed the Osprey at the nest platform, multiple Belted Kingfishers and then noted that the water has receded enough that the first shorebirds are assembling off Areas M and N. The shorebirds there this morning were many Killdeer, about 7 Spotted Sandpipers, 4 Greater Yellowlegs, about 12 Semipalmated Sandpipers and 6 Pectoral Sandpipers. In 2005 when the action began in early July we had a spectacular shorebird years at Hoover Reservoir. Are we about to experience another one? Next I took Dick off trail to the "Back Forty". The old roadbed is only about 5% of Area N and although often good it pales in comparison to the rest of the area. We were immediately greeted by a male Prothonotary Warbler. Not to be undone, numerous other male Prothonotary warblers decided to cooperate and come to sing for us. We tallied about 10 sightings and heard numerous others. One male gathering insects for its fledglings came to within 8 feet of us repeatedly and put on a great show. Audubon recently reported the decline in the number of Green Herons. From their numbers at The Hoover Nature Preserve you would never know it. We observed many Green Herons at several locations including some juveniles that obviously were from this year's broods. The Yellow-billed Cuckoos were being obnoxious today. We could hear them all around us, some very close, but none would come into our sight line. Payback for the one that posed at 10 feet for 15 minutes last week. Flycatchers were abundant with Acadians, Willow, Great Crested, Eastern Wood-Pewee and Eastern Phoebes. We also located several Indigo Buntings and stopped at the Ruby-throated Hummingbird's nest. Off to Dustin Road (Area L) where we began with the old roadbed, then followed Little Walnut Creek. More Prothonotary Warblers, Green Herons, shorebirds in the cove, Carolina Wrens that serenaded us, and off course, more obnoxious Yellow-billed Cuckoos. As we headed back to the car we encountered a racoon that from its behavior was likely rabid. I called it in to the wildlife people as it was on the public walking trail. If you ever encounter a racoon in daylight, in the middle of the trail, that doesn't run for cover, beware, be careful and avoid getting near it. Rabies shots aren't fun. This has been a big problem on the east coast and it has spread westward. I don't have statistics for Ohio, but cases have been occurring in the state. After the racoon encounter we decided lunch was the next rule of order and stopped at Jules in Galena. After fueling up we next visited Old Sunbury Road. Things were quieting down during the afternoon but we did manage some good finds. More Prothonotary Warblers along the way. I stopped and opened a few boxes to show the nests to Dick. This was a rude reminder that cleaning 200 plus nest boxes is ahead for me. We returned along the shore instead of the old road as the mudflats are forming from Pelican Island south. This is the area where the Godwits were in 2005. Today we found Killdeer, Spotted Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers and Pectoral Sandpipers on the mudflats and among the Ring-billed Gulls on the emerging sand spits we located 8-10 Caspian Terns. Species we observed today include: Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Green Heron Canada Goose Wood Duck Mallard Turkey Vulture Osprey Red-tailed Hawk Killdeer Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Spotted Sandpiper Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Ring-billed Gull Caspian Tern Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Heard Only) Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Nest Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Wood-Pewee Acadian Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Tree Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Blue Jay American Crow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Wood Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird European Starling Prothonotary Warbler Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting Song Sparrow Common grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Baltimore Oriole American Goldfinch 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. 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