On July 4 I posted a query about natural nest sites for raptors recently introduced/re-introduced to Ohio (by the way, this does not include bald eagles, which to my knowledge have rebounded in Ohio without active re-introduction efforts such as releases). I've gotten twelve responses thus far, but only one of them appeared on Ohio-birds. Seems to me this forum is a perfect setting for sharing requested information, and for having actual discussions about birds, but it doesn't seem to be working out that way. Ohio-birds has a sort of solipsistic air--there's so little interaction, at least on the list! What kind of forum is that? Does anyone have any idea about why this is so, especially if he or she is willing to post it publicly??? I at least learned a lot from the responses sent to me alone, and I'll share a few details from them here, minus the names of the shy respondents. First, I made a mess of asking about wild settings for osprey nests. I heard about a number of them in the state, two of which I should (in Delaware & Erie counties) have remembered, one of which I myself had seen twice! Also Allen and and Marion and Williams counties. So I'll say the current osprey re-introduction project seems to be working, thank goodness, and these birds are apparently able to branch out into trees rather than constructed nest platforms. Eagles are quite intolerant of the competition of ospreys (though of course they love to steal fish from them), so we should keep an eye on instances where their territories might overlap; maybe we shouldn't expect osprey nests in the NW marshes, for example. As for peregrine falcons, I got not a whisper of news. This is not surprising, for natural settings for peregrine nests seemingly don't exist here. There is, I was told, some evidence from northern Europe that peregrines may at times occupy vacant eagle nests at waterside locations. There is no such Ohio evidence that I'm aware of, but it may have happened long ago along the Lake Erie shore. Some knowledgeable correspondents were induced to share some interesting observations about raptors' nests in Ohio, some of which I ought to pass along. One opined that barn owls probably didn't have much foraging area in pre-settlement Ohio, so they, like falcons and ospreys, perhaps mostly benefited from human activities like deforestation; the same may well have been the case for the American kestrel. Food for thought, the kind of thing I think worth sharing with everyone. If I hear other interesting information, I'll pass it along. Bill Whan p.s. I'm getting an avalanche of responses to my offer of copies of "The Birds of Buckeye Lake"...that's great, and after I sort things out I'll get back to respondents. Maybe I'll have to try to get more copies! ______________________________________________________________________ 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]