Hooded Warbler in the deep woods...

Birding at Shawnee State Park in Southeastern Ohio

...continued from the earlier "Volunteering at Shawnee State Park" posts.

One morning in July when Matty and I were volunteering at Shawnee State Park, Jenny Richards, the park naturalist, met us at the lodge to go birding. We headed off on the Lampblack Nature Trail (which picks up at the lodge) to see what we could find. At only ten minutes into the hike, we heard the loud whistles of a Hooded Warbler drifting through the shadows and branches of the trees surrounding us. For the next 20 minutes we watched, listened to, stalked, and drooled over this gorgeous little bird. I don't get to see Hooded Warblers too often in Cincy, but only two hours away...in the expansive forests of Shawnee, Hooded Warblers put on quite a show on a regular basis!

Painting #84, Hooded Warbler in the deep woods, come out and sing so I can find you!

Oil Pastel

9x12 Arches Cold Pressed 140 Lb Paper

I can't remember how many of them we saw, but I think five or six were about. The birds were very curious and one came in close for the camera, but somehow I lost the memory card with the photos of him (and a lot of other amazing birds too)! I knew the only way I was going to get a post up on him was to create him from my memory, so last night I tried. Once again, the 100 Painting Challenge gave me the boost to get the job done. These little summertime warblers are so beautiful. I can never get enough of them.

Beak Bit

Look at the Hooded Warbler's huge black eye! The Hooded Warbler has the largest eye of all the woodland warblers. Since Hooded Warblers live in the dark shadows of mature forests, it is an adaptation to help them see better in the reduced light.

If you have time, drop over to Jenny's new blog for Shawnee State Park, Naturally Speaking. Right now she has a nifty photo of a Marbled Orbweaver--dressed in seasonal pumpkin orange, no less...