Well Matt, sounds like you were downstream while we were upstream from Eldon Russell Park tending the prothonotaries. We heard a black-billed cuckoo and saw a yellow-billed cuckoo along with a pileated woodpecker, spotted sandpiper and many redstarts which are very plentiful. Good to hear about the sandhills. We've been hearing them in that vicinity during the (too) many weeks of high water. Along the river from ERP to the first bend beyond Bridge Creek, we're getting redstarts, red-eyed vireo's, yellow-thr. vireos, warbling vireos, great-crested flycatcher, kingbird, phoebe, wood pewee, least and (near the landing) Acadian flycatchers; tree swallows, grackles, gnatcatchers, veeries, woodthrush, catbirds, rb grosbeaks, B orioles, song sparrows, yellow warblers, yellowthroats, tanagers, redwings, downies, hairies, flickers, red-bellied woodpeckers. Barred owl nested near the restrooms, fledged at least one young with an adult barred killed and plucked on the rail fence, probably a great horned owl. Had lots of blackpolls the last 2 weeks of May, the high water kept the solitary sandpipers from occupying the river for the month of May as they annually do. Prothonotary tally to date: 7 nests in jars, at least 3 in natural cavities. Dan Best On Jun 4, 2011, at 1:46 PM, Matt Valencic wrote: > My son and I canoed/birded about 1.5 miles of the upper Cuyahoga River > starting at Eldon Russell Park and going downstream. A beautiful > morning to > be on the river. You can move your boat well into the trees on > either side > of the river making for some interesting birding. > > > > Lots of expected birds but the best were: > > > > Protonotary Warbler - 7 - at least 3 using Dan Best's artificial > nesting > cavities. Some great pics > > Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 3 - feeding actively in the upper 1/3 of > maple trees. > It appeared that one of the birds mounted another for about 10 - 15 > seconds. > Mating?? > > E. Kingbird - 3 - one sitting on nest that is currently over water > > Sandhill Crane - 3 that took flight as we rounded the first curve. > Never > seen again. > > > > There are new trees down in the river just downstream from the boat > launch > but you can canoe/kayak around by staying far right or far left. > > > > > > Matt Valencic > > Chagrin Falls, OH > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > 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] ______________________________________________________________________ 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]