Hello! On the spur of the moment, my wife and I headed down to Hocking County to try again to see the Mississippi Kite. Unlike our last trip 3 weeks ago when we were skunked for 2.5 hours, upon our immediate arrival today at about 3:05 PM, like Ann Cramer's post, a Kite was spotted soaring over the golf course area, whirling, diving, and catching/eating insects "on the fly". After about 5 minutes, the second Kite joined its mate soaring and feeding together. One of the pair disappeared out of view after about 5 minutes of flying together, and we continued to watch the remaining Kite for another 10 minutes until it too disappeared. We hung around for another 20 minutes hoping to get another view of one, but left satisfied with the show. With the extra time we then had, we decided to stop at Conkles Hollow for a hike since we had not been there for several years. Initially, we hiked the Rim Trail during which we were serenaded the entire time by the song of numerous Hermit Thrush, with a solo accompaniment of a Wood Thrush initially thrown in toward the beginning of the trail. Along the Rim Trail, we spotted two of the Hermit Thrush and two Red-Eyed Vireos, heard several Acadian Flycatchers, and saw a Barred Owl thanks to the heads up provided by several Chickadees chattering away at it just off trail. After completing the Rim Trail loop, we then started on the Gorge Trail where we were greeted by the concrete monstrosity bisecting the gorge of the "Nature Preserve". I had forgot that a concrete trail was constructed there a few years ago and literally gasped when I first saw it. I totally understand why it was constructed given previous storm damage and such but I would think that a different medium (such as wood or the boards containing recycled plastic that look like wood) would have better sufficed to provide access for the physically handicapped. A topic better discussed (if at all) on the forum; back to the birds. Along the Gorge Trail, we had up close views of 2 different sets of Ovenbirds with fledglings in tow. Also, we watched an Acadian Flycatcher feeding her 3 nestlings in a tree adjacent to the trail, and watched another yellowish Acadian Flycatcher "fly catching" and calling from a limb over the small stream that runs through the gorge. A beautiful evening for a hike in a beautiful area (other than the aforementioned trail). In an earlier post today, Ann Cramer provided excellent directions to the Kite spot, and Conkles Hollow information can be found on the Ohio DNR web site. Rob Lowry Powell, Ohio ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour ______________________________________________________________________ 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]