After being down and out for the past three days with the sinuses from Hell I was beginning to suffer from a very bad case of Cabin Fever. Even though my head felt like there was a watermelon in it I ventured to the preserve to monitor the progress of the Prothonotary Warblers in Areas M & N. I limited myself to the section of Area M that I access from the old road which runs through Area N and the old road itself from the entrance off Front Street in Galena to the old bridge base at Big Walnut Creek.



It almost seemed like the birds had missed me as I was greeted very closely by several of the males. I placed new territory markers along the road edge for 8 new nest sites I was able to confirm. The markers may make someone think I have Purple Martins instead of Prothonotary Warblers as there are many territory markers and they are close together. However, only some of the sites are near the road, whereas others are further back but can be seen clearly from the road. To date I have located the nest sites for 31 pairs of Prothonotary Warbler within Area N. With patience while standing near an orange marker ribbon one can see many nest sites from the road in Area N. Several of the nests are within 3 to 4 feet from the old road. The other nest sites in Area N are in the back areas and require a trek through mud, water and fighting off insects. In all I spotted 27 Prothonotary Warblers in Area M & N this morning. With the frantic feeding trips it a
ppears that a number of the nests are close to fledging.



Other observations of interest included watching the Osprey at the nest platform off Area M, Mallard and Wood Duck hens trailing their ducklings behind them, Northern Flickers being harassed by their young who are already the size of their parents, 2 different Blue-gray Gnatcatcher nests with the adult on the nest, White-breasted Nuthatch bringing food to the nest cavity, and a Great Horned Owl being mobbed by crows.



Now I wait to see if I’ve refueled my allergies gone wild and if my sinuses violate our insecure truce.



Charlie Bombaci

Hoover Nature Preserve



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