We launch the HMS Hoover again today and we covered areas along the northwest shoreline of Hoover Reservoir and upstream along the Little Walnut Creek. Shaune and I were joined by Bernard. This was his first time out with us and it was productive for all of us. I’ll start with the surprise of the day, a Peregrine Falcon that did a flyover at low altitude, like under 50 feet above us as it zipped right over the boat. This alone would make for a great day but the good times just kept rolling along for us. We checked both active Osprey nests and found the adults and hatchlings are doing quite well. The pair at the natural nest watched us as we sailed by at a safe distance. Their hatchlings are slightly less far along than the nest further north of the reservoir. At Nest Platform H2 the adults were busy feeding a hungry, growing and persistent family. Their hatchlings are getting crowded at the nest and one is testing its wings, flapping for all its worth even though it still lacks flight feathers. Later we watched a Belted Kingfisher as it flew in and entered its nest cavity in a bank along the shore. A pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers was busy chasing European Starlings away from their nest tree. One perched at the end of a bark less branch and flew out to catch flying insects and then return to its perch only to repeat the routine over and over. The flashes of white when they are flying catch your attention and then in the sunlight their colors of red, black and white are striking. And of course we took time to admire the Cliff Swallow as they flew to their mud nests under the bridges. The nests look like small brown igloos striking sideways from the bridges. The young were sticking their heads out looking for their next tidbit. A Wood Duck hen scooted her brood to cover as we approached on Little Walnut Creek. My primary goal, as always, was to locate and/or monitor Prothonotary Warblers. We located 10 new territories bringing the year’s total to 132. In all we locate 23 Prothonotary Warblers, all but one were males. The lone female made her appearance in the early afternoon. The males often provided us with great views as they sang with gusto. Several Yellow Warblers tried their best to pretend they were PROWs but they didn’t pass muster with us. A list of the day’s birds follows below. Charlie Bombaci Hoover Nature Preserve SPECIES LIST Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Green Heron Turkey Vulture Canada Goose Wood Duck Mallard Osprey Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk Peregrine Falcon Ring-billed Gull Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Chimney Swift Belted Kingfisher Red-headed Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Wood-Pewee Eastern Phoebe Eastern Kingbird Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher American Robin Gray Catbird European Starling Yellow Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Scarlet Tanager Eastern Towhee Song Sparrow Northern Cardinal Indigo Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole Baltimore OrioleAmerican Goldfinch ______________________________________________________________________ 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]