I made several stops on Hoover today from the dam up to the boardwalk. I figure if I wait for good weather and a day off at the same time I might as well forget about ever going birding. At the dam, the cliff swallows were busy feeding their nestlings. I could see some of the little tykes peeking out of their nests waiting for their parents to come feed them. Just above the dam, a mallard hen swam by with her brood trailing behind her. Judging from the size of them and the number of them, I think it must be her second brood. The brood hasn't had a chance to dwindle in number yet. Farther up Sunbury Road, a killdeer was feigning a broken wing. I trod carefully watching where I stepped, not just to avoid stepping on her eggs but to avoid stepping on goose land mines. At Mudhen Marsh, the red-headed woodpeckers are still attending to their nestlings. A house wren serenaded me from the top of a nest box. As I left, a group of Carolina wren fledglings bade me farewell. The prothonotory warblers were singing at Oxbow but didn't show their faces. The green heron made an appearance though as did the belted kingfisher. The tops of little heads were visible above the rim of the osprey nest visible from the boardwalk. Tree Swallows, barn swallows, and cliff swallows were flying around and occasionally skimming the water. One adult barn swallow and fledling were perched on the rail. Here I heard prothonotory warblers singing again but this time I saw them. As I left I walked past the Carolina wren couple that keeps building nests only to have the carleave with its rear bumper still attached. The last stop was Hoover Meadows. By now the rain which had been a fine mist all morning had turned to a steady drizzle. I didn't see much there but I was greeted by an indigo bunting as soon as I entered the first section. 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]