For the last two days my birding has had to be incidental. I have been assisting Naturalist Jill Snyder with preschooler programs at Highbanks Metro Park. This month the program was “creeking” and we explored the creeks for crayfish, salamanders and other creatures. Both the preschoolers and we “big kids” had a good time. The bonus feature was the birds around the program’s area. Soaring above us were one of the resident Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks. Over and in the fields of the Big Meadows area there were Tree and Barn Swallows, Eastern Meadowlarks, Eastern Bluebirds, Orchard Orioles, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers and Field Sparrows. In the forested area along the stream were Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Scarlet Tanager, Pileated Woodpecker, Acadian Flycatchers, Baltimore Oriole and Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Then tonight after dinner Linda accompanied me while I did a check of my nest boxes at Wiese Road in Galena. Several Prothonotary Warblers were active and the pair in a nest box close to the trail were coming and going from their nest. The hatchlings should fledge in the next day or two. Maybe July 4th will be their Independence Day. Also observed at Wiese Road were lots of Gray Catbirds, Indigo Buntings, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Scarlet Tanagers and a Wood Duck hen with her ducklings in tow. To my fellow veterans and everyone else, have a wonderful and safe July 4th. Charlie Bombaci Hoover Nature Preserve ______________________________________________________________________ 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]