Hi, Did a beauty fall hike to Carver Pond (restricted access) at the Holden Arboretum in Kirtland this morning and along the way we saw Eastern Bluebirds, then along the East Branch of the Chagrin River and at Carver pond found Bald Eagles. Then driving home a Peregrine Falcon flew across the road near the Kirtland south Cemetery. This caused me to reflect back on growing up in Kirtland in the 1960's and 70's and how all 3 of those species were extremely rare. While we are constantly bombarded by a narrative of birds under threat, and there certainly are real threats like habitat loss from coal mining reducing numbers of Cerulean Warblers, and huge declines in seabirds with the likely culprit being Mercury pollution from burning coal, the Eastern Bluebird, Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon are certainly success stories which show what can be accomplished with properly focused efforts on the real threats to these birds. I still remember my lifer Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcon. The former when I was in grade 7 and outside for recess when a mature adult flew over. The latter at Magee Marsh when I was about 14. I honestly thought that might be the only Peregrine Falcon I might see in my lifetime as their population had been so decimated by the pesticide DDT. But we banned the use of DDT in 1972 and all three of these species have rebounded to common or abundant status. So abundant that I even have Peregrine Falcon as a flyover yard bird in my wooded yard on Gildersleeve Mountain. We find Eastern Bluebirds nesting in natural cavities deep in the woods because there are apparently not enough nest boxes. Bald Eagle nests are commonplace. Remarkable change I have seen in my lifetime. These successes just make me realize that it is not all gloom and doom. That with properly focused action that targets true threats to species, we can make changes which have astonishing results. But we cannot be distracted by false equivalences like standards which treat harm to a few individual birds in the same way we view things that threaten entire populations. Focus on the entire population is key or else the prefect becomes the enemy of the good. Haans ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]