This morning I went up to Hoover Meadows. I arrived there around 8:30 AM. The highlights of the day were an Eastern Meadowlark, 2 Tree Swallows, and 3 Eastern Phoebes. I know the latter two have been back for a while but it's the first time this season I've seen them. The Eastern Meadowlark was a life bird for me. American Robins were the most numerous followed closely by song sparrows, starlings, and red-winged blackbirds. Numerous Turkey Vultures were either flying over or roosting in trees. A couple were even roosting on top of bluebird boxes. A Downy Woodpecker was drumming out his territory along the row of dead trees near the back. A Northern Flicker was also heard drumming in the stand of trees north of the first pond. A male northern flicker was also chasing another male away. Also seen:Northern Cardinals, American Crows, Canada Geese, Mallards (flying over), Carolina Chickadees, Blue Jays, Rusty Blackbirds, Goldfinches, 1 Killdeer, and 1 Eastern Bluebird Afterwards I went to the boardwalk at Galena. The highlights were an Osprey and 14 Double Crested Cormorants. I had never seen a cormorant before in all the times I've Been to Hoover. A Carolina wren was hopping around the parking lot. A Downy Woodpecker was drumming on the utility pole at the corner of front and Columbus Sts. Across the water from the boardwalk was a pileated woodpecker. Also seen: Ring-Billed Gulls, Ring-Necked Ducks, Lesser Scaups, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Pintails, Hooded Mergansers, Red-Breasted Mergansers, Mallards, Horned Grebe, American Coot, Great Blue Heron Al La Sala Columbus, 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]