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2007 was an amazing year at the Hoover Nature Preserve and Hoover Reservoir
in several ways. The year began as most years with spring rains and high
water creating what appeared to be excellent habitat conditions for the
Prothonotary Warblers. New nest boxes were installed at Mudhen Marsh and Area F with
help from Rick and Richard Oxley in conjunction with Richard’s Eagle Scout
Project. Thus 2007 began with 201 nest boxes in place at the preserve and 20
more on adjacent private land.
In mid-April the male Prothonotary Warblers began to arrive and establish
territories. Numbers were excellent as I began monitoring activity and I wasn’t
concerned that rain had been minimal since April 1st as the water levels
were high and short periods of low rain totals are not uncommon.
By May 1st the first female Prothonotary warblers appeared at Hoover and
things began to get serious. The males became more territorial and the females
began pairing with them and selecting nest sites. As I located nest sites I
put up my territory markers to make it easier to monitor the nests. I began the
year with 60 pre-numbered markers and quickly realized I need to make up
more which turned out to be an understatement. I have been participating in the
Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas II project and therefore I have been monitoring
beyond my nest box trail. Shaune Skinner and her father Jim Skinner have provided
me with the opportunity to monitor areas which would otherwise be
inaccessible as we have headed out in Shaune’s boat to monitor the islands in Hoover
Reservoir, along the east shore and several areas along the west shore and up
Big Walnut Creek. Everywhere we monitored there were Prothonotary Warblers in
numbers and concentrations beyond expectations. The young fledged in earlier
years are returning to Hoover Reservoir and every location with adequate
habitat seemed to have nesting Prothonotaries.
As May and June passed the rains still did not come and the water levels
began dropping at Hoover Reservoir but the Prothonotaries pressed on undisturbed
by the conditions. This enabled me to walk to areas that normally would be
deep water, especially in the back recesses of Area N. Area N has always been
a hotbed of Prothonotary activity where I have located many nest sites and
heard other males singing beyond where I could wade. This year I was able to
easily walk to these back areas and I was stunned as I located 33 nest sites in
Area N. There is one location that was spectacular as I could sit on a large
log and watch 6 different Prothonotary Warbler nest sites at once, the
closest being less than 10 feet from the log. This same spot hosted a
Ruby-throated Hummingbird that I got to watch build her nest, incubate the eggs and
fledge the young; several pairs of Northern Parula’s, a pair of Red-headed
Woodpeckers, Yellow-billed Cuckoos, and a pair of nesting Cerulean Warblers that had
a territory across the creek but often the male would drop down to forage
very close to where I sat.
Every year I have been taking people out with me to see the Prothonotary
Warblers as I enjoy sharing the bounty of the preserve with others and the
pleasure they have getting close to these delightful birds. Everyone I hosted this
year went home with smiles on their faces as they had positive experiences
at the preserve. The topper was the day I hosted a lady birder who initially
planned to stay until noon but ended up staying until 5:00 PM. Sometimes you
just can’t turn and go, especially on a day that you log in 45 Prothonotaries.
With the help of many friends and visiting birders I managed to GPS the
location of 176 Prothonotary Warbler territories at Hoover in 2007. The general
locations are outlined in the chart that follows. Now I get to clean and do
maintenance on the nest boxes. 2008 will present more of a challenge as Richard
and Rick Oxley and I installed 20 plus new nest boxes and we will have about
230 nest boxes in the preserve along with the 20 on adjacent properties.
Hoover Nature Preserve
2007 Prothonotary Warbler Results By Area**
In
In Natural
Area
Boxes Cavities Total
Area F
0 3 3
Area I
0 12 12
Area K
0 2 2
Area M 1
3 4
Area N 12
21 33
Big Walnut Creek 0
10 10
Duncan Glen 0
1 1
Dustin Road 7
6 13
Eastshore Yacht Club 2
0 2
Hoover Woods Road 2
1 3
Little Walnut Creek 4
8 12
Mudhen Marsh 9
7 16
Old Sunbury Road 9
7 16
Oxbow Road 7
5 12
Pelican Island 0
3
3
Red Bank Bridge Cove 0
4 4
Twin Bridges 4
6 10
White Tail Deer Island 0
11 11
Wiese Road 7
2
9
Totals
64 112
176
** Note that area titles are for general vicinity and include some adjacent
habitat.
Charlie Bombaci
Hoover Nature Preserve
Delorme 58 C (2) & (3)
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