Fellow birders, Yes, it is true. It's a little quieter than it was in June, but birds are still singing! In fact, mid-July is probably one of the more productive times to head out and do some first-time atlasing or clean-up work in your blocks. One issue that everyone might be wondering about is the fact that the list of Ohio breeding species with expired safe-dates is rapidly growing. At the moment, we're outside of safe dates for 59 species and that list will grow significantly on July 21st. Do not dismay because safe dates only apply to simple observations in the "Observed" and "Possible" categories. If you venture out into a block right now, and I can almost guarantee that you'll run into fledglings of some sort.or better yet, adults carrying food to those hidden fledglings that can be impossible to actually see let alone positively ID. A morning bout of atlasing today in northern Licking County produced a hefty 63 breeding species with a 52% confirmation rate. The birds we're literally yelling "Put us on the list 'cause we're nesting in this block!" It was a great morning, and there were still many warblers, including Kentucky, parula, yellow-throated, and Louisiana Waterthrush, that were singing consistently. If you would like more information about the Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II or if you have questions, check it out on the web at www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/ or contact us by email ([log in to unmask]) or by phone (614-247-6458). Aaron Boone Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II School of Environment & Natural Resources Ohio State University 210 Kottman Hall 2021 Coffey Road Columbus, Ohio 43210-1085 Phone: (614) 247-6458 <http://www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/> www.ohiobirds.org/obba2/ ______________________________________________________________________ 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]