I applied the better part of the day collecting trash that fishermen left
around Areas N and L of the nature preserve. Some people never heard of the
"leave no trace" policy. While I was collecting trash I did manage to make some
interesting observations. I observed the first Prothonotary Warbler fledglings
 back on June 19th this year which is about a week earlier than I normally
see any. Today I observed 3 different broods being fed by the adults, plus I
observed an additional 17 adult Prothonotaries, mostly males. As a general rule
 the Prothonotary Warbler adults have already begun migrating south by mid-to
 late July at the preserve and they are followed about a week later by the
juveniles. There seems to be a lag in the departure date this year. Last  year,
2007, I observed a pair of adults feeding fledglings in mid-August which  was
quite a surprise. Is the climate change with its increased temperatures
resulting in an increase of second nesting attempts by Prothonotary Warblers in
the northern extent of their range?

Several other species I observed today at Areas N and L are Northern  Parula,
Yellow-throated Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Acadian
Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-headed Woodpecker and a Great Horned  Owl.

The water level is slowly falling at Hoover Reservoir and the first small
parcels of mudflat are being exposed at Area L (Dustin Road). The signs are not
good for shorebirds at Hoover Reservoir as it will likely be mid-August
before  the shallow cove at Area L is exposed enough to do any good and the areas
off  Wiese Road and Area M may not provide any mudflats in time for the
shorebird  migration. If things improve I will post where mudflats become adequate
for the  shorebirds.

Charlie Bombaci
Hoover Nature Preserve




**************Get fantasy football with free live scoring. Sign up for
FanHouse Fantasy Football today.
(http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020)

______________________________________________________________________

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]