I took advantage of weather  comfortable enough to work to visit Wiese Road
and assess the extent of the  damage to this section of my nest box trail.
As with the other sections I have  been able to check, Wiese Road took a
hard hit from the strong summer storms.  Like Area L, Wiese Road experienced an
almost 33 percent nest box loss. The  strong winds snapped trees in the
middle or torn off branches, which then zeroed  in like a guided missile on the
nearest nest box. Where a direct hit was made it  looked like the nest box
had exploded. There were few large pieces left. Viewing  the nest boxes
after a hit I pondered what the cost was to the resident bird  population. They
obviously would have sought cover, but then the cover didn't  fare so well.
The Prothonotary Warblers were at the point where many hatchlings  were just
fledging from the nest. For the initial time after fledging they  generally
stay fairly low and in dense cover, but then they head high into the
canopy over the area which would seem to make then susceptible to the fierce
winds of the storm in late June. Although I wish I had an exact accounting of
how badly they suffered, I think I'm better off not knowing. As of now I am
estimating a loss of approximately 50 nest boxes. I have my work cut out
this  fall to clean, do maintenance on, and replace nest boxes, beyond
anything  experience over the last 27 years working with the nest boxes at Hoover.
Margaret Bowman recently emailed me about the devastation at Dawes
Arboretum. I  could sense the tears in her eyes from simply reading the email.
Central Ohio's  losses from the storm were terrible.


    On a somewhat more upbeat note, while  at Wiese Road the signs of
nature's strength were on display. The mudflats were  filled with Great Blue
Herons (est. of 50-60), Great Egrets (22), and  shorebirds. I had tools rather
than a spotting scope so an ID of any shorebird  not close was next to
impossible. Based on their size and where they were, in  from the water or at the
water's edge, I estimate a wide variety were present.  At the normal water's
edge, now brush to plow through to get to nest boxes, we  counted 5
Red-headed Woodpeckers and an assortment of Wood Warblers. Those close  enough for
ID included American Redstarts, Black-throated Greens and about 4 or  5 in
fall plumage that flitted by while I was balancing on a log to check a nest
box, thus giving me the choice of try to lift my field glasses and levitate
or  be smart and hold on. The latter seemed the better choice.


Charlie Bombaci
Hoover Nature Preserve

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