The mighty Mahoning River has been used and abused throughout the years by big business. It has provided ALL Americans a dumping ground of many toxins(Petroleum hydrocarbons, benzo(a)pyrene, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and mercury) from steel producers who supported the war effort of WWII when restrictions on pollution were not a concern. The silt of the river is still contaminated and will remain so until a concerted effort is made to dredge and dispose of said contaminants. With that said it is a fantastic river to observe birds. In the last two weeks along the river in Niles I have had the opportunity to see and hear the following. Ok it's not Magee Marsh but it is amazing all the same. Eagle- Immature Yellow-breasted Chat (single bird) Black-billed Cuckoo (pair) Osprey (nest on cell phone tower) Largest population of Indigo Buntings in a one mile stretch I have ever seen. Great-crested Flycatcher (1 bird) Eastern Towhees nesting Blackburnian Warbler (single bird) Magnolia Warbler (single bird) Yellow Warbler Red-tailed Hawks Belted Kingfisher Cedar Waxwings Baltimore Orioles Barred Owls (heard) White-crowned Sparrow ______________________________________________________________________ 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]