I spent the morning policing trash at the preserve while checking the status of the water level near my nest boxes. The water is mostly gone at Area N, but there is a layer of mud up to your knees. I'll have to wait for it to harden before trying to walk out to the nest boxes for cleaning and maintenance. At all the other area I checked the water is still present around the nest boxes. Thus, no shorebird habitat of note yet. Today I observed 17 Prothonotary Warblers, all juveniles, foraging in the black willow trees and cottonwoods. This is the first time since April that I haven't found any adults. It appears that the adults have begun their journey south to their winter retreats in Central and South America. The juveniles are fully grown but still lack much of the adult's color. They will follow their parents south in drips and drabs over the next several weeks and then the long wait until next April to see them again. 2008 was another successful year for the Prothonotary Warblers at the Hoover Nature Preserve. I'm in the process of perfecting my records for entry to NestWatch. Because of the high water I couldn't get to several locations and this caused a slight dip in numbers, but I think the total identified territories will be between 150 to 160 in 2008. Fledglings weren't confirmed for all sites but if the success rate matches the average of previous years there should be approximately 500 fledged Prothonotary Warblers from the known nest sites. I got the first indication of a good year back in April when I hosted an Ohio Young Birder's Club Chapter and we tallied about 40 males in just Area N. I'll post the final numbers by sections of the nest box trail in a follow-up posting. There was activity other than Prothonotaries at Area N this morning. Perched at the end of the Area M boardwalk were 2 Great Egrets, surrounded by numerous Ring-billed Gulls. About 25 Double-crested Cormorants were in the water between Areas M and N. The young Osprey at the platform off Area M were taking short flights over the water and back to the platform. They aren't ready to take the big step yet. One of the adults was present and busied itself harassing passing Great Blue Herons. It looked like a version of Osprey Skeet's. Belted Kingfishers were on several snags off the Area N trail and several Spotted Sandpipers were working atop the driftwood. Along the old roadbed in Area N I observed several Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Eastern Kingbirds, Green Herons, Red-headed Woodpeckers, a rather raggedy looking Yellow-throated Vireo, and as I was walking back to the car, American Crows mobbing a Great Horned Owl which they sent across the trail right in front of me. Not a bad morning considering I was there policing trash. I guess I should consider it a reward for a good deed. Charlie Bombaci Hoover Nature Preserve **************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? Read reviews on AOL Autos. (http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017 ) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]