We went down to Conkle's Hollow to catch the first wildflower wave, and kept our ears & eyes open for birds there and at nearby Spruce Run Hollow (Webster Road). Numbers were not high, but diversity was fairly good. Many of the temperate migrants dominating central Ohio are scarce or absent down here. The list included: Red-Shouldered Hawk - calling birds at both CH and SRH Red-tailed Hawk - 1 circling over St 374 Broad-winged Hawk - 1 soaring & calling over CH Pileated Woodpecker - singles at both CH and SRH N.Flickers - 1 at CH, 2 at SRH Sapsucker - 1 at SRH E.Phoebe - 2 at CH, 1 at SRH Blue-headed Vireo - 1 singing at CH Rough-winged Swallows - 2-3 calling over CH Winter Wren - 2 singing at CH, 1 at SRH Blue-gray Gnatcatchers - 1 at Ch, 2 at SRH Ruby-cr.Kinglets - 2 CH, another 2 at SRH Golden-cr.Kinglets - 4 at Ch, 2 at SRH Hermit Thrushes - singles at both spots Parula Warbler - 1 singing at mouth of SRH Yellow-thr.Warblers - singing birds at both CH and SRH Yellow-rumped Warblers - 2 at CH Louisiana Waterthrushes - 1 singing at Ch, 2 squabbling at SRH E.Towhee - 2 calling at each spot Chipping Sparrows - 4-5 calling around the mouths of both hollows White-throated Sparrows - 5 on all the trails at Ch, 2-3 along the road at SRH Junco - 1 bird in the hemlocks along the rim trail at CH Large numbers of blooming Trout Lily and Hepatica dominated the flowers at Conkles Hollow, but there were also smaller #s of 8 other flowers as well. Spruce Run had just as diverse a flower display, but not in the masses seen at Conkles. ______________________________________________________________________ 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]