Blackbrook Audubon Society

BLACKBROOK AUDUBON SOCIETY 

PO Box 1306

Mentor, OH 44061-1306  Email: blackbrookaud@aol.com

 

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Late Spring 2008

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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 distribution 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

 

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


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.”

 

 

 

Member Sightings/Meetings/Field Trips


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.

 Mentor, OH : Veterans' Park Mentor, Ohio

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

 

Blackbrook Audubon Society


  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 PresidentBarb Shuter;  

for Secretary: Mary Ann Wagner

and for TreasurerNancy 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!


 

Welcome to Hawkcount

Hawk Count is a site dedicated to tracking and reporting of raptor migrations.

Check it out!

http://www.hawkcount.org/


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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