Hi Everyone, Beth and I left Cleveland under pouring rain Saturday morning, but our confidence in the weather forecasts was rewarded; it was a beautiful day in the Western Basin. We went first to do the Ottawa auto tour. We did NOT see the yellow-headed blackbirds, but considering it Œs the summer solstice, when we wouldn¹t expect a great variety, it was a good day. Actually, it¹s always a pleasure to spend time at Ottawa, and as usual on these mothly tour days, we saw a few friends, always an added bonus. Here¹s our Ottawa list: Canada Goose Mallard Pied-billed Grebe Great Blue Heron Great Egret Black-crowned Night Heron Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk (we heard what I ‹and some others‹thought was a fledgling calling from a big cottonwood tree, but couldn¹t see it. I also heard an adult call nearby) Common Moorhen American Coot (Coots and Moorhens heard but not seen‹were they protecting young by sticking to the reeds?) Killdeer. (At one point, we found a Killdeer ³nest²--four eggs right on the road, obviously laid since the last tour, and they will hatch before the next one. We put out an orange cone from an nearby junction to warn motorists, and interestingly, it seemed to calm the adult that was sitting on the eggs (s)he stipped getting up for each approaching car after that.) Mourning Dove Northern Flicker Flycatcher‹Empidonax sp. Since ti didn¹t sing....but with others, felt it might have been Willow? Eastern Kingbird Blue Jay Tree Swallow Northern Rough-wing Swallow Barn Swallow House Wren Marsh Wren (several‹ at least four in each of two different spots) Sedge Wren ! (This was because some friends were already listening to this bird‹but we heard it well, and got good looks. The bird of the day for me!) American Robin Brown Thrasher Cedar Waxwing Yellow Warbler Common Yellowthroat Song Sparrow Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird American Goldfinch House Sparrow From Ottawa, we went to Metzger Marsh, and took the trail well into the southern area of the marsh, hoping for bitterns or rails. No such luck, though we had enough mayflies (³Canadian soldiers²) to satisfy us for the next ten years or so‹we left the trail with scores of them on each of us. At Metzger we added to our list for the day: Herring Gull Ring-billed Gull Common Tern Forster¹s Tern (there were VERY few gulls or terns‹we saw half a dozen individuals or fewer) Double-crested Cormorant (one!) Great Crested Flycatcher Chimney Swift Baltimore Oriole Finally, we stopped at Magee Marsh. At the Center, we added: Purple Martin Ruby-throated Hummingbird We went to the boardwalk, which of course was nearly empty of people at this date. We saw one other birder and one person talking a walk for exercise. But the place has its charms at this time‹the foliage is very dense, which makes birding difficult, but it¹s quite beautiful. The woods are filled with huge numbers of Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds and American robins, but there are other birds there, of course. We added to our day list: Downy Woodpecker Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Prothonotary Warbler We were also treated to seeing a Black-crowned Night Heron being chased by a blackbird, not once but twice... Finally, in addition to mayflies, deer flies, and some other flies we didn¹t know, there were a good number of odonata species out. Best wishes, Steve Cagan Cleveland Heights ----------- Steve Cagan, photographer www.stevecagan.com 216-932-2753 (USA) Current and upcoming activities: stevecagan.com/contents/currentactivities.html ______________________________________________________________________ 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]