I applied the better part of the day collecting trash that fishermen left around Areas N and L of the nature preserve. Some people never heard of the "leave no trace" policy. While I was collecting trash I did manage to make some interesting observations. I observed the first Prothonotary Warbler fledglings back on June 19th this year which is about a week earlier than I normally see any. Today I observed 3 different broods being fed by the adults, plus I observed an additional 17 adult Prothonotaries, mostly males. As a general rule the Prothonotary Warbler adults have already begun migrating south by mid-to late July at the preserve and they are followed about a week later by the juveniles. There seems to be a lag in the departure date this year. Last year, 2007, I observed a pair of adults feeding fledglings in mid-August which was quite a surprise. Is the climate change with its increased temperatures resulting in an increase of second nesting attempts by Prothonotary Warblers in the northern extent of their range? Several other species I observed today at Areas N and L are Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Acadian Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-headed Woodpecker and a Great Horned Owl. The water level is slowly falling at Hoover Reservoir and the first small parcels of mudflat are being exposed at Area L (Dustin Road). The signs are not good for shorebirds at Hoover Reservoir as it will likely be mid-August before the shallow cove at Area L is exposed enough to do any good and the areas off Wiese Road and Area M may not provide any mudflats in time for the shorebird migration. If things improve I will post where mudflats become adequate for the shorebirds. Charlie Bombaci Hoover Nature Preserve **************Get fantasy football with free live scoring. Sign up for FanHouse Fantasy Football today. (http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]