Female Black and White Warbler exhibiting her nuthatch-like behavior at Clear Creek Metro Park in Hocking Hills

Birding Hocking Hills in Southeastern Ohio
…continued from yesterday’s post on the Common Yellowthroat.
After hitting the mother load of Common Yellowthroats yesterday I had to go back to Clear Creek Metro Park again today to see if I’d luck out again. I started from the Creekside Meadows parking lot and took the trail to the right. I really hadn’t walked too far in when I saw a Black and White Warbler creeping up and down a tree. Yesterday, I caught sight of a Black and White Warbler briefly while I was watching Common Yellowthroats, but I wasn’t able to photograph her, so I was really happy to see her again today.

A female Black and White Warbler creeps down a tree. Black 

and White Warblers are known for their nuthatch-like behavior. 

(You can tell this is a female because she 

has a grey cheek, males have a black cheek.)

Female Black and White Warblers build their nests on the 

ground near the base of a tree, usually well hidden by leaves. 

Maybe that's why she's always walking down trees ;-)

I love Black and White Warblers. I find them regularly on the Little Miami Bike Trail, but I’ve never been able to photograph one, so you can imagine what I was feeling when this Black and White female decided to glean insects off the bark right in front of me!

This little female spent more time going down the tree than up! 

She was very thorough as she worked over the bark and 

really resembled a White-breasted Nuthatch while she worked!

...don't stick your head in that hole, Mrs. Black and White 

Warbler. It might get stuck, and that would not be good! 

I had other luck in the park today as well, but I didn’t see a Cerulean Warbler. They are supposed to be everywhere in this part of Ohio, but the naturalist said in the past couple of days they haven't been singing as much as they did earlier in the season. I did hear a Cerulean Warbler sing four times in the huge Sycamore trees by Clear Creek, but I didn’t see him, so I can’t include him in my count (also...I’ve never heard his call in person—just on CD, so I can't be sure, but it sounded just like the CD!) I did, however, see and hear a Worm-eating Warbler, which is another lifer for me! I had taken the Hemlock Trail to the other side of the road away from the meadows and Clear Creek. This trail wound through the bottom of a Hemlock-forested ravine and hugged a small brook. The temps were significantly cooler and the breeze felt so good sweeping through. While standing on a tiny bridge that crossed over the slow-moving brook, I noticed an area where leaves had caught on branches from a fallen tree, isolating part of the brook and making it a perfect place for a small bird to get a drink, so I decided to watch a bit. As soon as I looked through the binocs I saw movement and there he was! He didn’t stay around long, though. The entire time I was walking in the ravine, a Hooded Warbler was singing...very loudly! Yesterday I got one brief look at his beautiful eyes and face, but today I heard him over and over, and recorded him on my iPhone. I don't know how to get that file to my computer yet. I'll have to do that when I get home. 

p.s. Worm-eating Warblers, like Black and White Warblers, also nest on the ground.