Today Al Lasala assisted me as we surveyed Dustin Road, the Little Walnut Creek Corridor, Wiese Road, Hoover Meadows and Oxbow Road at the Hoover Nature Preserve. The weather was less than delightful, but the birds made the day well worth the effort. The best way to sum things up is to describe the day as "Nursery Day" at the Hoover Nature Preserve. I'll spare having you read a total list and restrict my comments to the best of the best. Prothonotary Warbler - What other species would I start with? We watched adults feeding the fledglings. Currently Prothonotary Warblers are feeding fledglings all over the preserve. It's like watching a buttered popcorn machine at the theater. Sharp-shinned Hawk - Earlier this spring Linda and I located an active Sharp-shinned Hawk nest. As the trees filled out the nest site disappeared into the greenery. Today Al and I were in the immediate area and approached from a different route and lo and behold, we located the nest which held a fluffy hatchling that stared back at us. Green Heron - We located an active nest with three hatchlings. The fuzz balls were beginning to wander on the branch near the nest. Wood Duck - We observed several hens with their broods in tow. When mom says so they literally run on water. Other comments- Recently it was reported that the North American Green Heron population has decreased substantially over the last several decades. The numbers at the preserve this year seem almost a direct opposite as there seem to be Green Herons in good numbers in most areas of the preserve. I like our trend better. General fledging dates are trending ahead of my historic records by between one to two weeks. I wonder if others are noticing the same trend in the areas they monitor/bird? Species observed by Al and myself today include: Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Green Heron Turkey Vulture Canada Goose Wood Duck Mallard Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird European Starling Cedar Waxwing Yellow Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Scarlet Tanager Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Song Sparrow Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole House Finch American Goldfinch Charlie Bombaci Hoover Nature Preserve **************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]