How many of you have visited Hoover Nature Preserve to watch the stunning
Prothonotary Warbler feeding on insects and raising their family season
after season?  You should all be aware that for almost 25 years one person
has been behind the Golden Candle of the Swamps success and increase in
numbers - Charlie Bombaci.  And how many know about Ohio's amazing 12-18
year old birders called the Ohio Young Birders Club founded by our own Kim
Kaufman of BSBO?  This fall the central Ohio OYBC chapter at their late
summer YAB (Youth Advisors Board meeting) said they wanted to do more
service projects.  They learned that the late June severe wind storm called
a Derecho caused significant wind damage to the trees supporting up to 50
nestboxes at HNP.  They discussed what they could do to help.  They have
been raising funds to buy wood and supplies to build boxes to help Charlie
help this cavity nesting warbler.



In early October, the central Ohio chapter built 40 boxes on a Sunday
afternoon. They were on a roll..then we discussed having a service project
at the OYBC annual meeting to try to finish nestbox construction.  At this
past Saturday's 6th annual OYBC conference at Aullwood Audubon Center and
Discovery Farm, Mission Accomplished! and the amazing students and some
parents helped to complete the nestboxes.  There is something about using a
cordless drill that kept them coming back, that and the thrill of helping
such a beautiful bird.  The OYBC wanted to make sure the warblers will find
a place to call home when they return April 2013.



Charlie Bombaci, who's many years of dedicated service (since 1987), has
made Hoover Nature Preserve a model of success for the Prothonotary
Warblers, is thrilled that the young birders have decided to take on this
project and "pay it forward" for the good of the species.



Now we are asking for your help. It is no easy task to go into the preserve
and wade and slog and put up the nestboxes.  You are climbing over and
around tree roots and carrying materials and tools and getting ready for
next breeding season.  This coming Sunday November 11 we have organized a
work day to try to install half the boxes or more.  We will meet in Galena
at area N and area M to work from 9-3pmET.  Can you spare a couple hours or
more to help? Charlie, OYBC and the birds would appreciate your help and
time.



If you are interested to help, please contact Darlene Sillick by email
[log in to unmask] and I'll send you additional details.  Boots,
barn boots and maybe waders will be needed and some tools too.  The students
did an amazing job making posters to teach everyone at the conference about
the PROW and they followed directions step by step to build the cedar boxes.
Now they hope you can help with some of the field work and then come back
next April to hear that 'sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet' that stops you in your
tracks to look for that golden flash.  It feels good to pay it forward and
thank Charlie for his years of effort to put HNP on the map.  Please plan to
pack your lunch and bring your own drinks to help us keep costs down.  Or
take a break and visit a local restaurant and tell them what you are doing.
We hope you can join our work day!  Here are some links to see what OYBC
students around the state are busy doing.  They are indeed our hope for
tomorrow and they are amazing!!



http://ohioyoungbirders.org/news/nestboxassembly.htm



http://ohioyoungbirders.org/



http://columbusaudubon.org/production/index.php?option=com_content
<http://columbusaudubon.org/production/index.php?option=com_content&view=art
icle&id=559&Itemid=6> &view=article&id=559&Itemid=6



Thank you!

Darlene Sillick (cell/text-614-288-3696) email/text preferred
[log in to unmask]

OYBC co-advisor along with Gerry Brevoort, Tim Daniel, Susan Setterlin, Mike
and Dawn Zook and the OYBC advisors up north, John Sawvel, Kate Zimmerman
and our founder Kim Kaufman



About the Ohio Young Birders Club

The Ohio Young Birders Club is a program developed by the Black Swamp Bird
Observatory  <http://www.bsbo.org/> (BSBO) to educate, encourage, and
empower our youth conservation leaders.




______________________________________________________________________

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]