This morning I returned to Dustin Road (Area L) with a twofold plan. First, to check on the progress of the Prothonotary Warbler nest sites I have located to see where things stood, and second to police the trash I observed when there on Tuesday with my guests.



All 8 of the nests I had previously discovered at this area are active and intact. The males were singing away from their favorite perches and the females generally were in the nest boxes as most are in the process of laying their eggs. As I was wading I happen to look down and discovered nest number 9. This pair are nesting in the top of a stump and the nest is very exposed if you are close to it, but not where it can be seen from the shore. In the late morning I spotted several females leaving the nest box to forage. So far, so good, as no predators have found any of the nests and the fishermen who often wade in the area have not disturbed any of the nests.


I filled several 30-gallon garbage bags with trash, mostly beer cans and bottles, and I picked up many empty vodka bottles, bait containers, junk food wrappers and Styrofoam coffee cups. Most of these items and the monofilament fishing line are not biodegradable. The fishing lines especially concerns me as a bird could easily get snagged in it and die.



I had a small amount of time left before I had to prepare for a volunteer shift at the Metro Parks so I made a quick run to Area M. I picked up another bag of trash from the
weedy area around the edge of the parking lot. I guess they think that it doesn’t count if you throw them in the bushes. The last item was a discarded tire someone rolled over the edge. Filled with water this made a nice breeding ground for mosquitoes. I emptied the water and piled it with the other trash. I ran into Adam Cirone as I was finishing and we walked out the boardwalk to view the nesting Osprey. From the gate to the area for viewing the Osprey I heard 6 Prothonotary Warblers singing. When I walked back to the car I spotted 2 of them going to nest boxes set in the little coves.


If a genie were to grant me three wishes, one would be to teach people what trash cans are for.



Charlie Bombaci

Hoover Nature Preserve



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