Ken Davis should have risen earlier today. I know he has a keen eye so he wouldn't miss much if it were active. Linda and I were in the area earlier in the morning as I have begun to monitor my nest boxes at Hoover Reservoir. We checked Areas M and N and the Big Walnut corridor finishing about 10 am. There were 13 male Prothonotary Warblers singing and collecting materials for their false nests, including the male at N-13 who has been working that nest box since Friday. In addition to Ken's observations we also observed Northern Parula, Louisiana Waterthrush and Yellow-throated Warblers in the M/N area. A note, less than 20% of my nest boxes at M/N can be seen from the old road. Because of storm damage the last few years I have most in the back areas beyond the fallen trees viewable from the old road. The old road is still a good location to find Prothonotaries without needing boots. Later I checked an area not yet open to the public which lies in my Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II coverage area, Char-Mar Preservation Park. At Char-Mar there were Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green and Yellow-throated Warblers and Barred Owls, Hermit and Wood Thrush and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The new park will abut Area I of Hoover Reservoir which is in the Hoover Nature Preserve. As we skirted the western edge of Area I there were 3 Prothonotary Warblers singing. Near the Burnside Cemetery there were 2 Merlin's circling. It didn't look like they would hang around like the Merlin that stayed there almost 3 weeks last year. Charlie Bombaci Hoover Nature Preserve Delorme 58 C (2) & (3) ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ______________________________________________________________________ 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]