Hobart Urban Nature Preserve is located in a very nice residential area of Troy, Ohio, and is an interesting place to bird. It consists mainly of grasslands on the west edge of Troy, Ohio, about 200 yds. from I-75 as the dickcissel flies. Mary and John Carner, Carol Wasch, and Kurt Stein joined us this morning at 8 a.m. Dickcissels were everywhere--at least a dozen singing males plus an equal amount of grasshopper sparrows. Grasslands have not been mowed and wide walking paths make it very appealing. Sure hope whoever's in charge keeps it that way. Other sightings included: Baltimore oriole Orchard oriole Song sparrow Indigo bunting Yellow warbler Field sparrow Goldfinch Red-winged blackbird Tree swallow Rough-winged swallow Common yellowthroat Field sparrow Warbling vireo Cedar waxwing Mourning dove American robin Northern cardinal House sparrow Mallard European starling House wren Carolina wren Great blue heron Turkey vulture Common grackle Chimney swift Still didn't get enough birding so by 10 a.m. we decided to head to Greenville to search for the burrowing owl. Directions given by Robb Clifford were very good except Springhill Rd. is a looong way outside of Greenville off of 502. We left at 1 p.m. and no one had seen the owl as of then. But the great disappointment was saved by a lovely lunch at the Montage Cafe in Greenville. Ed and Bev Neubauer Englewood, Ohio **************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]