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News Letters
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Hushwing
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Help Support Local
Classrooms in Learning about the Environment!
By Becky Thompson
In September of 2007 with donations from Bird-a-thon and
Indian Raffle Tickets, Blackbrook distributed Audubon
Adventures to 116 classrooms plus 1 Nature Center.
AUDUBON ADVENTURES is an environmental education curriculum
for children in grades 3 to 5. Each classroom curriculum
contains 4 sets of newsletter and a teacher workbook which
contain hands-on classroom activities. In 2007 over 3000
local students, teachers and visitors learned basic,
scientifically accurate facts about birds, wildlife, and
their habitats through Audubon Adventures newsletter and
activities.
In the fall of 2008 we hope to increase our distribution to
over 150 classrooms. Increasing distrib ution
will allow us to reach over 4000 students. We hope by
increasing classroom usage in the future more students
become a part of a community of enlightened and informed
citizens aware of the environmental outcomes of each of
their activities. We could not distribute these important
environmental learning kits without generous donations
collected through bird-a-thon and raffles. Each classroom
kit cost from $20.00 - $50.00. If you are interesting
shaping our future environmental leaders please consider
donating any amount! Send donations to Blackbrook Audubon
Society or donate through Bird-a-thon.
Questions From Readers:
Q :
From: Beth Clinton <blueharwood@sbcglobal.net>
To:
blackbrookaud@aol.com
Sent: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 4:34 am
Subject: junco
Would it
be of any scientific interest to know that I had juncos
nesting in my garage this summer? I found it amusing, but
did not know until recently that juncos are not common in
our area in the summer.
I first
discovered my nesting bird when I was outside walking my
Irish Wolfhound and my Maltese one morning. We often exit
by the front door, then walk around to the side and re-enter
through the garage because the steps are easier for my aging
wolfhound. The junco was in the shrubs in front of the
house and caught my attention when it flew to the ground not
far from us as I walked to the garage door. I expected the
commotion of the door opening to startle the bird away and
was surprised when it did not. I was even more surprised
when it then flew in and landed in a bicycle helmet dangling
from a bike hung from the ceiling of the garage. After
observing it fly in several days in a row, I stood on a
stool and checked the helmet and discovered the nest and 3
eggs. I checked on the nest a short period after because I
was concerned that I had not seen the adult for awhile and
startled it out of the nest. At this point it did the
typical "injured bird act" and my Maltese chased it out of
the garage to the edge of the driveway (where I caught up to
and picked up the dog). Fortunately the adult was not
deterred and I am happy to report the babies were
successively raised and flew off.
My
husband later realized the nest was present because of the
resulting mess it made in the garage. He was concerned with
the finish on a 1960's car he restored and removed the bike
helmet from where it hung and put it on a shelf in the
garage. When I discovered the helmet moved, I was not sure
the fledglings would not return, so I put the helmet back in
it's original position. I was surprised when a short period
( 1 or 2 weeks) later when I discovered more eggs in the
nest. These also successfully hatched and moved on.
I found
it personally interesting that with all the disturbances and
the fact the the garage door is only open during the day,
the juncos still continued to use the nest for a second
batch of eggs. I did not realize that they were not common
to Ohio during the summer, although, I do live in the Little
Mountain area of Concord at a slightly higher elevation.
What I find most interesting is the choice of nesting area.
I could not find anything with a brief web search on their
preferred nesting habitat. Could you tell me if my
experience with my juncos is unusual?
Thank
you.
Beth
A :
Hi Beth,
I work for The Holden
Arboretum and I am on the board of Blackbrook Audubon
Society.
To answer your question:
Juncos are uncommon nesters in the state of Ohio with the
exception of some areas in Northeastern Ohio. Little
Mountain because of its elevation and climate is a common
nesting ground of Juncos. We see them
nesting Holden properties including Little Mountain,
Stebbins Gulch and Pierson's Creek. Around here Juncos seem
to nesting in Northeastern Ohio in areas with hemlock
ravines. Generally they are ground nesters but anything is
possible as long as the nesting pair feel that there nest is
safe!
I hope this answers your
questions! Hopefully you will have them again next year!
Becky Thompson
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Spotlight on:
John
James Audubon
A true conservationist is a man
who
knows that the world is not given by his fathers
but borrowed from his children.
-- John James Audubon
John James Audubon (1785-1851) was not the first person
to attempt to paint and describe all the birds of
America (Alexander Wilson has that distinction), but for
half a century he was the young country’s dominant
wildlife artist. His seminal
Birds of America, a collection of 435
life-size prints, quickly eclipsed Wilson’s work and is
still a standard against which 20th and 21st century
bird artists, such as Roger Tory Peterson and David
Sibley, are measured.
Although Audubon had no role in the organization that
bears his name, there is a connection: George Bird
Grinnell, one of the founders of the early Audubon
Society in the late 1800s, was tutored by Lucy Audubon,
John James’s widow. Knowing Audubon’s reputation,
Grinnell chose his name as the inspiration for the
organization’s earliest work to protect birds and their
habitats. Today, the name Audubon remains synonymous
with birds and bird conservation the world over.
Audubon was born in Saint Domingue (now Haiti), the
illegitimate son of a French sea captain and plantation
owner and his French mistress. Early on, he was raised
by his stepmother, Mrs. Audubon, in Nantes, France, and
took a lively interest in birds, nature, drawing, and
music. In 1803, at the age of 18, he was sent to
America, in part to escape conscription into the Emperor
Napoleon’s army. He lived on the family-owned estate at
Mill Grove, near Philadelphia, where he hunted, studied
and drew birds, and met his wife, Lucy Bakewell. While
there, he conducted the first known bird-banding
experiment in North America, tying strings around the
legs of Eastern Phoebes; he learned that the birds
returned to the very same nesting sites each year.
Audubon spent more than a decade in business, eventually
traveling down the Ohio River to western Kentucky – then
the frontier – and setting up a dry-goods store in
Henderson. He continued to draw birds as a hobby,
amassing an impressive portfolio. While in Kentucky,
Lucy gave birth to two sons, Victor Gifford and John
Woodhouse, as well as a daughter who died in infancy.
Audubon was quite successful in business for a while,
but hard times hit, and in 1819 he was briefly jailed
for bankruptcy.
With no other prospects, Audubon set off on his epic
quest to depict America’s avifauna, with nothing but his
gun, artist’s materials, and a young assistant. Floating
down the Mississippi, he lived a rugged hand-to-mouth
existence in the South while Lucy earned money as a
tutor to wealthy plantation families. In 1826 he sailed
with his partly finished collection to England. "The
American Woodsman" was literally an overnight success.
His life-size, highly dramatic bird portraits, along
with his embellished descriptions of wilderness life,
hit just the right note at the height of the Continent’s
Romantic era. Audubon found a printer for the Birds
of America, first in Edinburgh, then London, and
later collaborated with the Scottish ornithologist
William MacGillivray on the
Ornithological Biographies – life histories
of each of the species in the work.
Hushwing
Tips
How to avoid bird-window collisions
Many homes have
large windows,
but
unfortunately
birds have a
hard time
telling the
difference
between the
reflection in
the glass and
the real sky, so
they can fly
full speed right
into the window
and can be
seriously hurt
or even killed.
According to our
friends at the
National Audubon
Society, there
are a few
precautions we
can take to help
prevent these
crashes:
•Reduce the
amount of
reflection by
installing a
window screen.
•Block the sun
from hitting the
window by
planting trees
or installing
awnings.
•Move bird
feeders a good
distance away
from windows.
You've probably
noticed birds
tend to collide
with windows
more during
their migration,
but breeding
season also can
be a dangerous
time for our
bird-feeder
visitors, so
making a few
changes could
save lives.
We've had a
couple of birds
– a mockingbird
and a
hummingbird –
hit a window. We
picked them up
and placed them
on a high
surface to
protect them
from predators,
and once they
regained their
senses, they
flew off. So,
our story has a
happy ending,
but please
follow the above
hints to keep
birds safe.
Heloise
HINTS FROM
HELOISE
King Features
Syndicate
heloise@compuserve.com
At the Bird Bath!
Hey... can you
wash my back?
This is my
best side!
Or I don't
know...maybe this side?
Um... Mom said
not to get wet!
Huh? What the?
Can't a bird have some privacy?
Birds in Lawns: Groom your backyard
for the birds
By Sam Warren
Special to The Journal
A local bird sage gives some advice
to gardeners: leave some leaves underneath your trees
"Overly tidy gardeners are poor bird
gardeners,” Kress said. “They are wasting a valuable
resource for birds. People should tidy their yard, but they
shouldn't throw these natural resources away.”
“When raking leaves, rake them under
shrubs to make natural mulch,” Kress said. “And in the
corner of a yard, a brush pile” — a small pile of logs,
branches, twigs and bark — “is perfect for birds.”
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Member
Sightings/Meetings/Field Trips
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Blackbrook Audubon
Society
Meeting Schedule - 2008
Upcoming Meetings/Fieldtrips/Activities
Anual Spring Bird Walks
Mentor Headlands Park,
Zimmerman Trail
May 4,11,18
Blackbrook's Annual Spring Bird Walks are on April 13,
20 & 27 and May 4, 11 and 18. Meet at Zimmerman Trail
parking lot at 7:30 AM.
Directions: From SR 2 take the exit for SR 44
(north). At the end of the off-ramp, turn left (north)
directly to Headlands Beach State Park.
IBA Monitoring Continues
GREAT NEWS!
Blackbrook Audubon has decided to take on another
monitoring project. We will be collecting data on the
birds that live or visit
Lake Metroparks
Veterans Park.
Veterans Park
There are three Bird Walks per month so you have
ample opportunity to participate. The walks will
take place on the 2nd and 4th
Sundays (at 8 A.M.) and 3rd Wednesday (at 7
P.M.).
Everyone who is interested in lending their eyes and
ears, meet at the parking lot at 5740 Hopkins Road,
Mentor OH 44060.
The
first bird walk at Veterans Park will start on
Sunday, May 11th
BIRD BANDING
Tami Gingrich, Geauga Park
District
May 10 and 11, 2008
7 am -10 am
Mentor Lagoons Nature
Preserve
The City of Mentor Parks, Recreation & Public Lands
Department is partnering with local birding expert
and Licensed Bird Bander Tami Gingrich of the Geauga
County Park District to conduct bird banding on
Saturday and Sunday, May 10 and 11 from 7 - 10 a.m.
at the Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve in celebration
of International Migratory Bird Day, May 10.
In its fourth year, this event provides a unique
opportunity to observe many species of neotropical
migratory birds up close and with expert commentary.
Last year, more than seventy-five birds of over
twenty species were banded. Many of these are
colorful warblers such as the Magnolia Warbler,
which stops here before continuing on to Canada from
its winter range in South America.
Bird banding is an important method used to collect
data in migration, bird behavior, life-span, and
population numbers. Those interested in watching
and learning more about the importance of the Mentor
Lagoons Nature Preserve & Marina in this process are
welcome. This is a free program.
MAY
ACTIVITY
WEEK,
of MAY 11th to MAY 18th
Our
Annual Birdathon
Anywhere in
Northeast Ohio !!
We hope you will join us for Birdathon
2008. As most of you know, this is how we raise
much of the money we need to provide Audubon
Adventures to classes in Lake and Geauga
counties.
To make it easier to participate, we will
be holding Birdathon over an entire week this
year. It will start at 12:01 am on Sunday May 11th
and run until midnight Sunday May 18th.
You will need to decide which 24 hours during
that period you will do your birding. You don’t
need to bird the entire time, just so all the
birding you do falls within that 24 hour time
period.
If you would like to
participate, first you need to assemble a team
and let us know you will be birding. You can
sign up at the April program meeting, e-mail
blackbrookaud@aol.com
or call Nancy at (440) 257-1090. And if you
don’t have anyone to bird with, contact us and
we will help find a team for you to join.
Then go out and round up some sponsors to
pledge money for each species that you see.
Sponsors can be people you work with, friends or
family members. Or, if you are uncomfortable
about asking others for donations, then sponsor
yourself.
To make things more exciting, we will be
offering some prizes and awards this year.
Awards will be announced at the June picnic.
To qualify for any awards, you will need to
turn in a bird list and a final list of team
members as soon as possible after Birdathon, but
by the 30th of May at the latest. You
can bring your list to the May program meeting,
e-mail it to us or send it snail mail (PO Box
1306, Mentor, OH 44061-1306). It can be returned
to you if you wish. All money raised should be
turned in at the same time if possible. If not,
it can be brought to the June picnic as long as
you let us know the total by June 10th.
TUESDAY, May 20th, 2008
“Hidden Holden”
Haans Petruschke
7:00 p.m.
The Holden Arboretum
While many people
are familiar with the Holden Arboretum’s beautiful
gardens and collections, only about 800 acres of
Holden's nearly 3500 acres are cultivated. Much of the
natural areas not open to the general public reserving
their unspoiled beauty for guided tours only.
This photo tour
explores the beauty of Holden's remote areas in all
seasons. We will visit Carver's Pond, the East Branch of
the Chagrin, Little Mountain and Stebbins Gulch and see
wildflowers, birds and insects that call these areas
home, providing a small glimpse of an extraordinary
hidden Holden seldom seen by the public.
The images offer a
visual feast of what is for all purposes, a wilderness
situated practically in our own back yards. Areas so
pristine one can forget they are situated in the middle
of one of the
largest metropolitan
areas in the country. Clear waters, waterfalls, lush
forests, and rock formations one does not associate
with densely populated regions are all to be found in
these natural areas.
Haans will cover
the rock layers in detail, the forest types, and the
ecosystems of these areas, and will discuss why limiting
access to these areas is important to their
preservation. After seeing this
presentation, perhaps you
will be inspired to join one of the scheduled hikes, or
to at least appreciate the grandeur to be found so close
to home.
TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2007
Annual Summer Picnic
Big
Creek Park
Gather beginning at 6:00 p.m.
We
will begin eating around 6:30 p.m.
Since it has been a
couple of years since we held our June picnic in Geauga
County, we will head to Big Creek Park for this year’s
event. We will start gathering at the Aspen Grove
shelter at 6:00 p.m. and will begin eating around 6:30.
Everyone is invited, so please come and bring a friend
if you wish.
Please bring your own
table setting and a dish to share. Blackbrook will
provide some beverages: ice tea (or maybe coffee if
we happen to hit a chilly evening), juice, lemonade
and water. If you prefer soft drinks, please bring
your own. We will also have ice to share.
Following
dinner, we will announce Birdathon results and will
hand out awards and prizes. Then we will take a
final walk on part of the IBA trail that we have
been monitoring this past year.
As we will be at
a picnic shelter, we won’t let a little rain stop
us. However, if there is heavy rain or
thunderstorms, we may need to cancel. The board
would make a decision by 4 p.m. If you have any
doubts about the weather, call Nancy at (440)
257-1090 between 4 and 5 p.m. to check.
Directions: From
I-90: Exit I-90 at Route 44. Travel south 3.2 miles
to Clark Road. Turn east onto Clark Road, and travel
2 miles. Turn right onto Robinson Road. Travel .8
mile to park entrance.
From I-422: Exit I-422 at Route 44. Travel north 14
miles to Chardon Square. Continue around Chardon
Square to North Street. Travel north 1.2 miles to
Woodin Road. Turn east onto Woodin Road, travel .8
mile to Robinson Road. Turn north, travel 1 mile on
Robinson Road to park entrance.
All programs are free and open to the public.
Everyone is welcomed!
Check out the
Member Sightings Page
Photos by Roger Beuck
Horned Owl with 1 chick from
Chagrin River Park taked April 15, 17, 2008 by Roger Beuck.
Roger also photographed this egret on April 15th.
Photo by Sally Isacco
Sally Isacco photographed
this short-eared owl in flight on March 1, 2008 near
Middlefield Ohio. She also photographed several Pine
Siskins at Big Creek Park in Chardon, Ohio (Below).
Photos by Sally Isacco
Photo by Roger Beuck
Roger photographed the
above Red-Bellied Woodpecker recently.
Photo by Roger Beuck
Roger
Beuck photographed this Barred Owl at Chagrin River Park on
Dec. 30, 2007.
Photos by Jim
McConnor
Jim found these 2 Common Redpolls at his
feeder on Dec 13th. Jim noted that these are the species
which are being reported all along the Lake Erie area coming
from the boreal forest due to poor cone and nut production
in Canada. He says this is the same reason we have had
Evening Grosbeaks and so many Red-breasted Nuthatches all
fall.
These
photos were taken on Thanksgiving weekend in Saybrook Ohio
by some friends who have watched the fledgling and it's
parents over the past year. Paul Huling
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Blackbrook Audubon
Society
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FROM
the DESK of the PRESIDENT
by Nancy
Dilgren
angydy@earthlink.net
By the time you read this, spring will have arrived
and this weekend’s big snowstorm will be but a
memory. I am going to keep this short, as this is a
time of year where you can better spend your time
outdoors enjoying all that nature has to offer.
Blackbrook has a busy spring and summer
planned. The six weeks of Sunday morning bird walks
begins on April 13 at several locations around the
area. Blackbrook members lead the walk that begins
at Shipman Pond and continues at Headlands Beach.
We will have a table at Earth Day at
Penitentiary Glen on April 20th; we will be helping
build Prothonotary Warbler boxes at Holden on May 18th;
and we will have a table at the Festival on the
Lagoons on July 12th. We could use help
with all three so if you would be able to spare a
couple of hours any of those days, please let us
know.
Our April field trip will take us to Magee
Marsh on Sat. the 19th. And while we
don’t have any other field trips planned over the
summer, we will be doing IBA monitoring at Veteran’s
Park in Mentor staring in May. Walks will occur on
the 2nd and 4th Sunday
mornings and on the 3rd Wed. evening.
This will be an excellent way to follow the birds
over an entire year at one location as we will
continue the walks thru next April (no Wed evenings
during the winter when it gets dark early).
And finally, Birdathon will be held in May. We
hope that some of you who have not participated
before will join us. We want to continue to provide
Audubon Adventures to as many school children as we
can and we can only do this with you help.
Happy birding and happy spring
Nominating Committee Report
Every
year, in the spring, we in Blackbrook Audubon Society
have an election for the four most important officers on
our Board of Directors. And every year in this
Newsletter, we always print the list of those candidates
for those offices in the "spring" issue. So we're doing
our job here and your job, then, is to attend our April
meeting and vote for these fine candidates to show your
support for the all the time, effort, and work they (
and the other members of the Board ) do for Blackbrook
Audubon Society. Here, then, are the Nominations for
those four important offices.
For
President: Rebecca Thompson;
for
Vice President: Barb Shuter;
for
Secretary: Mary Ann Wagner;
and for
Treasurer: Nancy Dilgren !!
Interested
in Birding?
Looking to volunteer?
We are a local chapter of the National Audubon Society.
Program meetings are the the third Tuesday of the month. Field
trips are usually held on the third weekend.
Blackbrook Audubon depends on volunteers
to help us carry out our mission.
To
Volunteer contact:
BLACKBROOK
AUDUBON SOCIETY
PO Box 1306
Mentor, OH
44061-1306
Email:
blackbrookaud@aol.com
or
call
Nancy Dilgren
President
of Blackbrook Audubon Society
440-257-1090
If
you ever have any questions or concerns regarding programs,
you can email me at the “address” above or call Nancy Dilgren at (440) 257-1090.
Blackbrook
Audubuon
History
Blackbrook Audubon dates back to 1938 when Carl Newhaus, Kay
Boothe, and others met at the "Blackbrook Creek Bridge."
Around 1950, the "Blackbrook Bird Club", which held monthly
meetings and was informally involved with National Audubon,
and had been walking at Richmond Beach for 12 years of
Spring Bird Walks, became the Blackbrook Audubon Society and
began a more formal association with Audubon.
Currently, Blackbrook holds monthly meetings
(September-June) at Lake Metroparks, Geauga Park District
and The Holden Arboretum. In addition to monthly meetings,
Blackbrook hosts monthly bird trips to various locations in
Ohio. Blackbrook monitors local Important Bird Areas.
Three times a month, bird census walks are held in an
effort to monitor bird populations and help with habitat
management. In addition to holding IBA bird walks,
Blackbrook leads Audubon Sunday morning bird walks for six
weeks every spring. Blackbrook is also actively involved
with community events including Earth Day and environmental
events in Lake and Geauga Counties.
Mission:
Blackbrook Audubon Society promotes conservation and
restoration of ecosystems with emphasis on birds and habitat
through education and advocacy within Lake and Geauga
counties and adjacent communities.
Check out the Falcon Cam
 Every
year a pair of peregrine falcons lay a clutch of eggs atop
the Terminal Tower of Cleveland Ohio!
The excitement
can be viewed by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History's
Falcon Cam
http://falconcam-cmnh.org
There are several eggs in
the nest now so keep stopping by the falcon cam to see who's
hatched!
Hawk Count is
a site dedicated to tracking and reporting of raptor
migrations.
Check it out!
http://www.hawkcount.org/
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Birding Basics:
By Anders
Fjeldstad
We in
Blackbrook Audubon have been asked occasionally if we teach
“Bird Watching Classes”. Well, while we do lead the Spring
Birdwalks at Mentor Headlands State Park [Ed.: See
article elsewhere in this issue] and we do some teaching as
we lead, we don’t hold or teach any formal classes. But it
may have escaped your notice that the local Park Systems and
Holden Arboretum DO have formal classes that DO teach
Birdwatching. Unfortunately for you, these classes are
usually held in the beginning of the year (January,
February, and March) and by now (April or May) are all over
for the year. At the end of this year (like around
Christmas), why don’t you check out one of their Schedules
and sign up for one of these fine classes. They are taught
by some of the best local birders. Though they usually
charge a few dollars (just so you show up!), they are well
worth it since you’ll learn all those tricks it took us
years to learn!
Read more of
Anders' article... Click Here!
POISONOUS
PLANTS
by A. Fjeldstad
Ask anyone who feeds birds regularly and they’ll tell you
sooner or later they find Poison Ivy ( Rhus
radicans ) growing in their yard. We find it
underneath the various shrubs ( like Viburnums ) we’ve
planted to attract the fruit eating birds so that we have
other birds besides seed eating birds in our yard.
Sure enough, we found it in abundance this summer at the
back of the yard and carefully pulled it out. But not
carefully enough, for a few days later we had “Poison Ivy” ,
as the dermatitis you get from the volatile oils in this
“Poisonous Plant” is called.
Read more of Anders' article... Click Here!
Note from Anders:
Dear All; just a note to let
you know that Kenn Kaufman has assembled a wealth of
information and maps about birding Magee Marsh and the
nearby area on the BLACK SWAMP BIRD OBSERVATORY web site;
www.bsbo.org/birding
it appears on the front page
of that site and if you click on it you'll learn all the
stuff it took us old timers 20 years to learn ; it even
includes a list of local restaurants ( if you forgot your
lunch ! ) and nearby motels that take a "Birders Discount" (
but I think you have to ask for it and it doesn't apply on
the weekend ); anyway, if you or someone you know is going
out there ( especially for the first time !! ), download
and print some of this information and you'll know just
where ( and when ) to go !!
##### ANDERS #####
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