Today we launched the H.M.S. Hoover for the year's maiden voyage. We monitored sections of my Prothonotary Warbler nest box trail up Big Walnut Creek and Little Walnut Creek. One of our goals was to look for individuals that had been banded both last year and this year and to locate individuals that had yet to be banded. Trying to get a correct reading of four colored leg bands on a foraging Prothonotary Warbler will test your skills. We located 39 Prothonotary Warblers, many of which wore our exquisite colored jewelry. We did have success in locating some individuals that Dr. Tonra's eager and energetic graduate assistants will now try to catch in their mist nets.
In 2015 forty-seven PROWs were banded and so far in 2016 an additional fifty have been mist netted and banded. If you visit the Hoover Nature Preserve look for Prothonotary Warblers with their colored leg bands. Also in 2015 twenty-five individuals had geolocators attached as part of a project to monitor their migration movements with the goal to determine their movements to and from their breeding and wintering territories. The study will enable science to better protect their habitat at both the breeding and wintering territories. Loss of habitat is a material factor in the 40 percent decline of the species numbers since the 1960's. To date 7 of the 25 geolocators have been recovered.
The day was not restricted to Prothonotary Warblers as we observed a good variety of species during our travels. Red-headed Woodpeckers are having another banner year as we observed quite a few along both creeks. Green Herons were also present in good numbers, but the plum was found during the afternoon as we located a nesting pair of Brown Creepers. We watched them bring food to the nest site, located under loose bark on an old Cottonwood Tree. You could slightly see part of the hammock shaped nest through the opening in the tree bark.
The nesting Bald Eagles are doing well. An adult was at the nest with two juveniles. 
Charlie BombaciHoover Nature PreserveDelaware County

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