I just finished a lovely, interesting and very muddy three weeks of observation at our farm on Flint Ridge in western Muskingum Co. Today, I am back at work in Orange County, CA. Such is life. As I have often stated, our place is an average piece of Ohio Appalachian upland. It is not a migrant trap, although many migrants pass through. It is a nesting destination for 7 to 10 warbler species every year, and this year is looking fairly typical in that regard. We have no wetlands per se, but the rainy spring season has the hill gushing with springs and seeps. Those beautiful yellow flowers that love wet areas (my wife calls them "swamp daisies") are blooming in places where they usually don't. The expected warbler nesters: Common yellowthroat is again common. I hear four probable territories around the field/forest edge. Yellow warblers are consistently calling in two edge spots. A single blue-wing territory on the edge of the "back forty" successional field is being consistently graced by "fee-bzzzz." The odd-singing blue-winged and the possible golden-winged have moved on. Two Louisiana waterthrush territories, one by the "falls" and another near the "Beach Point." An ovenbird is being heard almost daily on the western slope above the "falls." The chat that I heard a week ago has apparently moved on. I had this species nesting on the property between 2002 and 2008, and I hoped for a return. It looks like good habitat, but I only heard that one chat for a few days this season. I saw a redstart first on Saturday, 5/7, and one has been consistently singing in the same place at the foot of the hill in the Spring Hollow since then. Looks like a possible nester. Cerulean warblers showed up in considerable numbers on Friday 5/6, and continued in numbers through Saturday. Sunday and Monday, one singing cerulean was still around, near the redstart on Sunday through Tuesday. I had them nesting on the property 2002 - 2003, although not since. Back then they were housed in what I thought seemed an unlikely place, a very live grape tangle high in a dead, rotting maple snag. The snag fell in the winter of 2003-2004 and I haven't had nesting ceruleans since. However, this guy looks and sounds promising. We will see when I return on the 19th. (Morning of the 20th I will be certain to check.) No Kentucky warblers, yet. Hooded warblers are around, possibly three territories, but they are not singing as robustly or consistently as in years past, at least while I have been in the woods. We will see if they persist. This is a special bird for me, since a hooded warbler flitting down to within five feet of eight-year-old Bob Evans in the spring of 1962 is largely responsible for sparking my lifelong interest in birds. I am thoroughly delighted to have them on my property, a "Signature Bird" for the place, as long as they stay around. Other warblers that have been seen passing through: yellow-rumped (of course), Nashville, magnolia (first seen 5/7), black-throated green, black-throated blue, Tennessee, palm The bulk of the passers-through have been yellow-rumped, black-throated green and Nashville, although this survey could be affected by my reliance on their singing. Other species of special interest: Eastern wood-pewee first whined in the forest canopy on May 6. Increasing numbers since then. The phoebe that nested the past three years in the rafters of the "tree-house" has relocated to the wood shed, a much safer location since the tree-house has been expanded into a straw-bale cottage that is more frequently inhabited. Acadian flycatchers first showed up on Saturday, May 7. Now they are common in the hollows. Red-eyed vireos have returned in typically strong numbers. Monday I heard a white-eyed vireo near the entrance to the ARA trail. A blue-headed vireo was my 131st yard bird, seen well in the morning light around 8AM on the 5th. I have always expected to see one on our farm sometime; didn't think it would take a decade. Indigo buntings don't seem to be as numerous as in years past, although a few are around. White-throated and white-crowned sparrows continue to move through. Large numbers of field sparrows, as well as typical numbers of song and chipping sparrows are around. A single swamp sparrow visited the feeders on 5/3. Towhees are seemingly everywhere in the forest understory. Perhaps my most interesting returning species is grasshopper sparrow. This year we have divided the large pasture into horse and sheep sides. The horses have been grazing all the way across the hilltop, whereas the sheep have only grazed within sight of the barn. I might have expected this, since the slightest provocation can send the sheep running back to the barnyard. They are also a bit lazier than the horses, in my opinion. The spring has been very wet, and the pasture growth is lush. There is plenty to graze on within the ovine comfort zone, so the pasture over the hill on their side is getting quite lush. Sunday (5/8) I heard a grasshopper sparrow singing over there, which startled and delighted me. I haven't seen them on the farm since 2001, when that part of the field was fallow ground. We will see if this situation works. I think there is only one pair or possibly two. Returning pioneers? Bob Evans Geologist, etc. Hopewell Township, Muskingum County ______________________________________________________________________ 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/. 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