I became interested in the recent postings about Dark-eyed Junco's and wondered "what's all the fuss?" I've taken these little guys for granted for the last 23 years since they were just a part of the 'feeder crowd' at our Geauga County home. This year was special for us because the same pair of Junco's nested successfully three times in the same nest between bales of hay in our barn loft, fledging 16+ young. The nest was lined with horse tail hair from our horses! http://picasaweb.google.com/mvalencic/NestingJuncoSMayJuneJuly2009# So I pulled out my copy of Bruce Peterjohn's The Birds of Ohio and realized that I'm living in one of the last hotbeds of year-round Junco's in Ohio - Geauga County and the Chagrin River watershed. He writes that with the destruction of the beech-maple forests in the 1800's Junco's became pretty scarce except in those last vestiges of beech-maple forest and hemlock-lined ravines (several MetroPark reservations especially along the Chagrin River). They like forests with dense underbrush (perfectly describes the woods next to our property) and will often put their nests on the ground. You folks in Lake County (just north of Geauga) and Holmes County don't see these birds year-round like we do. Now I understand the excitement! I found more newly-fledged Junco's this summer while atlasing in Russell, OH (also Geauga County). The adults were kept very busy catching green worms while the kids jumped around the underbrush and screamed for more! It amazes me how attentive the adults are to all the fledglings. Anyway, another teachable moment for me about an everyday bird! That's one of the great things about this listserv. Matt Valencic Chagrin Falls, OH ______________________________________________________________________ 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]