How many of you have visited Hoover Nature Preserve to watch the stunning Prothonotary Warbler feeding on insects and raising their family season after season? You should all be aware that for almost 25 years one person has been behind the Golden Candle of the Swamps success and increase in numbers - Charlie Bombaci. And how many know about Ohio's amazing 12-18 year old birders called the Ohio Young Birders Club founded by our own Kim Kaufman of BSBO? This fall the central Ohio OYBC chapter at their late summer YAB (Youth Advisors Board meeting) said they wanted to do more service projects. They learned that the late June severe wind storm called a Derecho caused significant wind damage to the trees supporting up to 50 nestboxes at HNP. They discussed what they could do to help. They have been raising funds to buy wood and supplies to build boxes to help Charlie help this cavity nesting warbler. In early October, the central Ohio chapter built 40 boxes on a Sunday afternoon. They were on a roll..then we discussed having a service project at the OYBC annual meeting to try to finish nestbox construction. At this past Saturday's 6th annual OYBC conference at Aullwood Audubon Center and Discovery Farm, Mission Accomplished! and the amazing students and some parents helped to complete the nestboxes. There is something about using a cordless drill that kept them coming back, that and the thrill of helping such a beautiful bird. The OYBC wanted to make sure the warblers will find a place to call home when they return April 2013. Charlie Bombaci, who's many years of dedicated service (since 1987), has made Hoover Nature Preserve a model of success for the Prothonotary Warblers, is thrilled that the young birders have decided to take on this project and "pay it forward" for the good of the species. Now we are asking for your help. It is no easy task to go into the preserve and wade and slog and put up the nestboxes. You are climbing over and around tree roots and carrying materials and tools and getting ready for next breeding season. This coming Sunday November 11 we have organized a work day to try to install half the boxes or more. We will meet in Galena at area N and area M to work from 9-3pmET. Can you spare a couple hours or more to help? Charlie, OYBC and the birds would appreciate your help and time. If you are interested to help, please contact Darlene Sillick by email [log in to unmask] and I'll send you additional details. Boots, barn boots and maybe waders will be needed and some tools too. The students did an amazing job making posters to teach everyone at the conference about the PROW and they followed directions step by step to build the cedar boxes. Now they hope you can help with some of the field work and then come back next April to hear that 'sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet' that stops you in your tracks to look for that golden flash. It feels good to pay it forward and thank Charlie for his years of effort to put HNP on the map. Please plan to pack your lunch and bring your own drinks to help us keep costs down. Or take a break and visit a local restaurant and tell them what you are doing. We hope you can join our work day! Here are some links to see what OYBC students around the state are busy doing. They are indeed our hope for tomorrow and they are amazing!! http://ohioyoungbirders.org/news/nestboxassembly.htm http://ohioyoungbirders.org/ http://columbusaudubon.org/production/index.php?option=com_content <http://columbusaudubon.org/production/index.php?option=com_content&view=art icle&id=559&Itemid=6> &view=article&id=559&Itemid=6 Thank you! Darlene Sillick (cell/text-614-288-3696) email/text preferred [log in to unmask] OYBC co-advisor along with Gerry Brevoort, Tim Daniel, Susan Setterlin, Mike and Dawn Zook and the OYBC advisors up north, John Sawvel, Kate Zimmerman and our founder Kim Kaufman About the Ohio Young Birders Club The Ohio Young Birders Club is a program developed by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory <http://www.bsbo.org/> (BSBO) to educate, encourage, and empower our youth conservation leaders. ______________________________________________________________________ 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]