Today Shaune Skinner and I set out on the
H.M.S. Hoover to survey the Prothonotary Warbler population along the southeast
shore of Hoover Reservoir. We began with the two coves at Twin Bridges then
slowly sailed a course hugging the shore from Twin Bridges to the coves at
Duncan Glen. At almost every location with ample flora of cottonwoods, box
elder, black willow there was a singing male Prothonotary Warbler. In the day’s
sunlight they were a gorgeous golden-yellow. Often the male would come closer
to investigate us. Since Shaune forgot her camera today the males put on a
musical revue for us. Isn’t that the way it works? Murphy was an optimist. We
logged 29 Prothonotary Warblers in the area we covered today. They are having
an excellent year at Hoover Reservoir and the final tally should be very
encouraging. The fledglings should begin making their appearance during the
coming week.
 
Many other species are introducing their
young to the world and we observed fledglings chasing the adults begging for
food. It’s amazing how much noise a little Tufted Titmouse can make when it
begs. One of my favorites was the Cliff Swallows. In many parts of Ohio they
are rare or absent, but at Hoover Reservoir they are common. Cliff Swallows can
be found under every bridge and at the dam. There are over 400 active nests at
Hoover Reservoir and if you go under one of the bridges by boat you can easily
observed the birds at their nests. Today we observed one of their behaviors
that I enjoy, groups of Cliff Swallows gathered around puddles of mud to get
mud for their nests. They look like butterflies the way they hold their wings
up as they collect the mud. This view shows off the details of their markings
and then you can appreciate that these are beautiful little birds. Usually
swallow are seen from beneath and their beauty is missed by the observer. 
 
Some of the other observations of the morning
included Green Heron,  Osprey, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated
Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Warbling Vireo, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Cedar
Waxwing, Yellow Warbler and Yellow-throated Warbler.
 
Charlie Bombaci
Hoover Nature Preserve

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