Today I enjoyed the company of Steve and Andi Wolfe at the Hoover Nature Preserve. The weather looked ominous early in the morning, but other than cloudy skies and a few early wind gusts it cooperated by not raining and occasionally even gave us sunshine. What sunshine we didn’t get from the weatherman was provided by the birds. It was a morning of who wants to show off their fledglings first and best. Some of the species we observed with their broods were Canada Geese, Wood Duck, Mallard, Osprey, Red-headed Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Baltimore Oriole. At one location we had the choice to watch Northern Parula, Prothonotary Warbler or Louisiana Waterthrush, at times in the same bush. A good nickname for the spot would be the nursery as there were fledglings everywhere at once. Obviously all of us were pure smiles. The preserve served up new surprises for me again today. Earlier in the week I discovered nesting Yellow-throated Warblers at Wiese Road, an area that borders the reservoir. They were at a stand of sycamore trees at the water’s edge, whereas all the other nesting Yellow-throated Warblers I have located have been along the banks of Big Walnut Creek, Little Walnut Creek or a similar habitat associated with a creek or brook. Today I discovered Black-and-white Warblers at Wiese Road. This is the first time I have found Black-and-white Warblers at the preserve outside the spring or fall migrations. Species observed or [heard only] today include: Great Blue Heron Green Heron Turkey Vulture Canada Goose Wood Duck Mallard Osprey Red-tailed Hawk Spotted Sandpiper Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo [Heard only] Chimney Swift Belted Kingfisher Red-headed Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Acadian Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Warbling Vireo [Heard only] 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 Wood Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher European Starling Cedar waxwing Northern Parula Yellow Warbler [Heard only] Yellow-throated Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Louisiana Waterthrush Scarlet Tanager [Heard only] Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Baltimore Oriole 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]