Today’s  nice weather was too good to waste and the time left to monitor 
Prothonotaries  is getting shorter. I headed into the back 40 at Area N and 
along Big Walnut  Creek in Galena (Delaware County). The water level at Hoover 
Reservoir continues  to drop like a bathtub missing its plug and I was able 
to walk in areas that  normally would require wading with hip boots. The 
Prothonotary Warblers  established their territories back in late April and 
early May when there was  plenty of water below the nest boxes and natural 
cavities. Now with the severe  lack of rain the water has receded to the point 
that the majority of my nest  boxes have dry ground under them. The 
Prothonotaries though are persistent and  dedicated parents and have tufted it out, 
incubating their eggs; hatching the  young and seeing them fledge the nest. 
I didn’t see much evidence of hatchlings  still in the nest today, but I 
found fledglings in good numbers in the back  areas of the preserve. The 
fledglings were raising a racket and this made  locating them an easy task. At one 
point there was so much activity that I sat  on the trunk of a downed tree 
for a half hour enjoying the show. The youngsters  were chasing the adults 
through the foliage stopping to vigorously flap their  wings, flare their 
tails and stretch their necks to get in the adults face to  beg for a handout. 
It worked pretty well. They were oblivious to my presence and  some came to 
within feet of me. I enjoyed the show but it is the first hint of  the 
oncoming southern migration. On average Prothonotaries begin migration in  mid to 
late July with the adults departing first. The juveniles follow later and  
with only a small number of exceptions they are gone by late July. The  
occasional pair that has a second brood sometimes is found as late as early  
August.     
Birders  might consider getting their spotting scopes ready for the 
shorebird migration.  Mudflats continue to grow along the shore at Hoover 
Reservoir. Unless there is  significant rain soon the mudflats should be extensive by 
mid July. They may  also get a chance to scope in the Bald Eagle juveniles 
as they have taken a  liking to the cottonwood trees at the edge of the 
reservoir. 
Charlie  Bombaci 
Hoover Nature  Preserve

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