I realize it's kind of early to start talking about nesting for birds other than owls, but I just went into the horse barn for something and found 2 Junco's flying around the rafters in the hay loft. Could they be looking to start a nest so soon? Junco's nest between the bales of hay every year in our hay loft with as many as 3 broods being fledged in a season. The earliest they have fledged their first brood is May something. If they start now they will certainly break that record. I would think they would delay nesting were it not for this artificial structure that provides so much protection. They came in through the stall doors which are opened daily all year round, no matter how cold or snowy, so they have had ample opportunity to come in if they wanted to before today. We also close these doors each evening during the winter. As a precaution I opened the two loft doors about 3 inches so they might come-and-go from above as they wish. So the question is, should I encourage this early nesting behavior (if that is what it is) or discourage it by closing them out? I regret not opening those loft doors 4 years ago when a pair of Eastern Phoebe's were showing interest in our barn rafters. It was around Easter that year and we got 12 inches of wet snow that stayed around for 10 days. The birds were not seen again after the snow. 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]