This morning I monitored the Wiese Road and Area M sectors of the Prothonotary Warbler Nest Box Trail at the Hoover Nature Preserve. If the reader is familiar with Wiese Road, it used to be a wonderful area to walk with the reservoir and Prothonotary Warblers to one side and dense brush used by many nesters on the other side. The electric company, in the name of maintaining their lines, did what can best be described as a “clear cut” all along Wiese Road. I had more hair after my first haircut in the army (for those who haven’t been in the army, the army cuts it so short you look like a skinned onion ) than greenery left when they were through. The water side of the road still has the necessary habitat for Prothonotary Warblers and I located 7 singing males, 3 females and 3 active nest sites. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers. There may be 8 or 9 pairs in the preserve which is an encouraging statistic. Perched in the tall dead tree as I came into the area were two immature Bald Eagles. There were a variety of edge habitat species along the gash left by the electric company, but missing were the White-eyed Vireos and similar species that nested in the thick brush cover that used to be at Wiese Road. Hopefully with time this area will recover back to its former state. Later I mover over to Area M to locate Prothonotary Warbler nest sites. I work the back area which is away from the boardwalk. Last week a male Prothonotary Warbler greeted one of my friends as it landed in front of him on the boardwalk rail. The back area is much rugged and not for the faint hearted or anyone without boots. I no sooner entered the area when I was greeted by a Yellow-billed Cuckoo that alit not more than 5 feet in front of me. Before I left the area I observed 6 more cuckoos and heard several others. I observed 24 Prothonotary Warblers in this area, locating and recording 11 active nest sites. When I was leaving the temptation to see what mobbing crows had corned, took me into Area N where I was rewarded with a Great Horned Owl and 3 more Yellow-billed Cuckoos. The cuckoos have arrived in excellent numbers and seemed to be everywhere today. Charlie Bombaci Hoover Nature Preserve **************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4?&NCID=aolfod00030000000002) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]