Some days life is good. Today marks the ninth anniversary of my open heart surgery. I celebrated still being here [my blockages were discovered by accident and before they got me] by getting out to give coverage to a new block in Delaware County for the Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II. The site is on private property owned by a fine gentleman and his lovely wife who I have had the privilege to meet through a mutual friend. They have kept this land pristine and it is home to many animals and plants that are flourishing. I tip my hat to them for being wonderful stewards of this property. The 78 species of birds I observed there today was a great way to celebrate being alive. Some of the species I located I expected, but then there are the delightful surprises that seem to drop into your lap like the pair of Brown Creepers I discovered building a nest beneath the loose bark of a tree in a large natural forest pond. I had gone to this pond to get the two pairs of Red-headed Woodpecke rs and a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers that I knew should be there from a recent visit. Other things that stood out were Wild Turkey hens with their pullets in tow, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks constructing their nest, an adult Barred Owl with its owlet who is getting big, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher snuggling down on her tiny nest, finding two male Cerulean Warblers in the sunlight and then finding a female with one of them, the intense red of a male Scarlet Tanager in the sun, and a Yellow-breasted Chat that seemed to carry on a conversation with me. The list of species I observed in this special tract of habitats were: Canada Geese with goslings Wood Duck hens with ducklings Mallard hens with ducklings Hooded Merganser hen with ducklings Wild Turkey hens with their pullets Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Killdeer Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo Barred Owl and big owlet Ruby-throated Hummingbird Red-headed Woodpeckers, 2 pairs feeding young at nest hole Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpeckers feeding young at nest hole Eastern Wood-Pewee Acadian Flycatcher Willow Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird White-eyed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Carolina Wren House Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Veery Wood Thrush American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher European Starling Cedar Waxwing Blue-winged Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Cerulean Warbler Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart Ovenbird Louisiana Waterthrush Common Yellowthroat Hooded Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Summer Tanager Scarlet Tanager Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Song Sparrow Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow Charlie Bombaci ______________________________________________________________________ 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]