One of the better birding spots in Greene County, Ohio, is Spring Valley Wildlife Area. It has a nice mix of wetland and riparian woods, and attracts many migrants in spring and a good variety of breeding birds in summer.
One of most stunning woodpeckers in North America, Red-headed Woodpeckers have experienced a severe decline in recent decades. I was delighted to hear that the birds had nested in Spring Valley this summer, after being absent for a couple of years.
Here is one of the young Red-headeds. Note the brownish head and the double black bars on the wing.
Here is a young Red-bellied Woodpecker. She doesn’t yet have the red nape of an adult.
Lots of Green Herons live in the wetlands of Spring Valley. They make a tremendous metallic squawking noise for such a small bird.
Not a bird, I know, but this dragonfly was particularly eye-catching. Does anyone know what species this is?
This will be my last post from my trip to the east and mid-west. It is always nice to reconnect with the flora and fauna I knew before moving to Oregon (except for the Chiggers, I don’t miss them at all). But I am quite ready to resume my explorations of the Beaver State.
Ethical Birder 
I think your dragonfly might be a Spangled Skimmer. I purchased the Stokes Beginner’s Guide to Dragonflies last week and that was the closest match. I found it really helpful for ID-ing my pond visitors, but dragonflies are far more complicated to ID than birds. Do I win a prize?