APRIL ACTIVITY

DATE: Saturday, APRIL 19^th, 2008

ACTIVITY: Magee Marsh

TIME: 8:00 a.m.

PLACE: Crane Creek State Park

Nature Center

Our last trip of this season will be the farthest one, but should be the best, as we are going to one of the "premier" birding spots in the United States. Magee Marsh, which is located in Crane Creek State Park, in northwest Ohio and has long been a migrant trap on the flyway to more northern breeding grounds for many species of birds. If you haven't been to this location before.... this is the trip for you. Even though we won't be there for the "peak" warbler season, we will encounter many species of birds on their way north and this will be an excellent opportunity to find out how to bird this area so you may go on your own a little later in the season. Mother’s Day weekend is usually a prime time (or the next week, don’t forget Bird-a-thon is May 11th to May 18th) and is excellent for the Neo-tropical warblers. We will do the boardwalk and will travel to other destinations that are close by. This will be an "all day" event ( it's about 125 miles) so feel free to bring a picnic lunch to eat in the park, as other food is available but is several miles away.

We will try to carpool so please contact Jim McConnor at 440-257-2507 BY April 15th (tax day ugh!) for instructions and directions, especially if you can be a driver. This will be a "rain or shine" event so be ready for the weather. Hope to hear from you, we WILL have fun!!

MAY ACTIVITY

DATE: WEEK, of MAY 11^th to MAY 18^th

ACTIVITY: Our Annual Birdathon

PLACE: 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 11^th and run until midnight Sunday May 18^th. 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 30^th 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 10^th.

DATE: TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2007

ACTIVITY: Annual Summer Picnic

PLACE: Big Creek Park

TIME: 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.

IBA Info

IMORTANT BIRD AREA WALKS: We would like to thank everyone who participated in the monitoring project at Geauga Parks, Big Creek. We saw many wonderful and unique birds that live or visit the park. The project will end on April 27, 2008 with our last walk! All data will be sent to Geauga Parks and Audubon Ohio for potential land management and historical records.

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. We will be conducting three Bird Walks there every month! These walks will take place on the 2^nd and 4^th Sundays (at 8 A.M.) and 3^rd Wednesday (at 7 P.M.) of every month. 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 11^th

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 18^th; and we will have a table at the Festival on the Lagoons on July 12^th. 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 19^th. 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 2^nd and 4^th Sunday mornings and on the 3^rd 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 !!

Are you afraid of, or love bats?

Visit The Bat Farm to get over your fears or just enjoy the experience. Blackbrook Audubon members have come out to view the bats for the last 2 years as a group. This year, I would love to see all members come out at their convenience. The Bat Farm is a large, unique, maternity colony where you are guaranteed to see both Big Brown and Little Brown bats roosting. From mid-June to mid-July, you may even get to see the pups nursing. Each tour starts with a discussion on the myths, value, life cycle, and plight of bats. After the tour, you are welcome to stay as long as you wish to watch the bats leave the roost to forage for food. Tours (June-Sept) are free (donations accepted). Email Tracey and Jeff at: batfarm@windstream.net or call 440-543-6399 for reservations.

Blackbrook helps The Holden Arboretum attract Prothonotary Warblers

By Becky Thompson

Prothonotary Warblers are one of only two warbler species that breed in holes. They are easily identified by having a head and chest that are deep yellow, gray wings with no wingbars and bellies and undertails that are white. Prothonotary Warbler breeding populations are low at Holden because of lack of available tree cavities in swampy woods. They are on Audubon’s watch list as species that are either declining or rare. These typically are species of national conservation concern. According to National Audubon Society “Successful breeding of Prothonotary Warblers depends on the availability of dead trees for cavity nesting, and standing water for foraging. Bird houses for this species' use have been successful, even in degraded and fragmented habitat.”

On May 17, 2008 Blackbrook volunteers hope to improve the Holden population by helping local Girl Scouts build 20 Prothonotary warbler nesting boxes. These boxes will be placed in various locations throughout Holden including Blueberry Pond, Buttonbush Bog and Corning Lake. In addition to helping build the nesting boxes Blackbrook will purchase all materials to build the boxes including wood, nails and posts. If you are interested helping, consider volunteering with the Girl Scouts on May 17th 2008. Contact Becky at 440-602-3852 for more information.

Prothonotary Warbler:

Large warbler, small songbird.

Head and chest deep yellow, almost orange.

Eyes black. Back greenish.

Wings gray and without wingbars.

Belly and undertail white.

White spots in tail.

Beck’s Petrel :

"EXTINCT" BIRD is FOUND : We’ve been more or less following the continuing story about the Ivory Billed Woodpecker and its reported re-discovery in Arkansas and Florida over the last few years. The last ones were seen in the 1940's but now there are a number of people who claim that they have seen one but there are still no good photographs or 'specimens' ( a dead one !! ) that everyone can agree is actually an Ivory Bill !

No so with the Beck's Petrel !! Petrels area group of about 60 seabirds related to Albatrosses and Shearwaters; most of them are Gray or Brown on top and white underneath, looking vaguely like Gulls. Unlike Gulls, however, they are found far out at sea. Since they live so far out at sea, they are not regularly seen by most people and most birders. The Beck's is one of the rarest since it was seen only a few times in the 1920's (with only two 'specimens' collected and in a museum in the entire world!). Over the years since then people have claimed that they, too, have seen one, just like the Ivory Bill.

Now, after a 77 year wait, an Israeli ornithologist, named Hadoram Shirihai, has both very good, diagnostic photographs and a 'specimen' (a dead one!!). In fact, he found almost 30 of them in a South Sea island chain, some miles northeast of New Guinea. The Birders in Australia are ecstatic! You can get the whole story by googling up Beck’s Petrel on your computer and reading all the stories. Now only if one of the many people searching for Ivory Bills in the southeast US could do the same!!

--- Anders Fjeldstad ---

Birding for Beginners:

If you’re a ‘Beginning Birder’ or haven’t been at it very long, we’d like to encourage you to attend any Beginning Birder program that you can find locally. This year, the only one we can find is being put on by HOLDEN ARBORETUM. They have two different days to go, either Saturday April 19^th or Saturday April 26^th. And they both take place from 8:30 to 10:30 am on either of those two Saturdays and are FREE for Arboretum members (and only cost the front gate admission if you are not a member!).

So in order to learn how to identify Birds by sight, by song, and by habitat, just call and register

(at 440-602-3833 OR 440-946-4400) and then show up on one of those days, dressing for the weather (you may go outside!) and bringing your Binoculars.

Junior Birder’s Club:

A Beginning Birder program for Kids that we also like to recommend is also put on by HOLDEN ARBORETUM and is called the “Junior Birder‘s Club“. Taught by Becky Thompson, it just for kids from ages 7 through 15. It, too, is FREE, but you should call the Phone Numbers above to register. The Club meets once a month and they‘d like you to bring your own Binoculars, though they have a few to lend if you don‘t. Call the Arboretum if you’re interested in or want more info about these activities. Take advantage of these opportunities!

Dike 14:

Many of us enjoyed Susan Gallagher’s presentation on Dike 14 at our February meeting. For those of you who would like to get a closer look at the special nature area, they will be holding their spring open house “Migration Mania: Onward and Northward” on Saturday May 3 from 7:30 until 12.

There will be special hour long guided hikes at 7:30 am and 8:00 am, led by renowned Northeast Ohio naturalists. Please arrive 15 minutes before your walk to sign a waiver and receive additional information. The rest of the morning the Dike 14 Nature Preserve will be open for self guided hikes. There will be stops along the trail staffed by the region’s leading environmental education organizations to share information on the geography, history, plants and animals of the Dike 14 Nature Preserve.

Directions: Exit #177 from I-90. Parking is available at Gordon State Park. Entrances from North Marginal at E. 72nd Street, from North Marginal between E. 72nd and MLK, and park office entrance from Lakeshore Boulevard east of MLK.

Killing Cormorants:

Perhaps you remember “in the good old days” when we labeled certain species of Birds and other animals as ‘vermin’ and would kill these vermin without any remorse. Well, we like to think “we’ve come a long way, baby“, but we really haven’t. It’s true, we no longer kill many of the Birds we once considered ‘vermin’ - But we ( this time, I mean the State of Ohio) will once again this year be killing Double Crested Cormorants on their nests on the islands in Lake Erie. And this year, we’ve even talked the Canadians into doing the same on some of their Lake Erie islands. Though, to be fair, there are a lot more Canadians upset about this than Ohioans.

And the people who want to do this have produced some ‘studies’ to show what ‘vermin’ these nasty Cormorants really are; studies that show that Cormorants ruin the nesting success of other more desirable Birds like Egrets. What they don‘t mention is that the American Ornithological Union is quite critical of these studies.

These studies also don’t talk much about the incredible political pressure to kill Cormorants. Fishermen apparently believe that since Cormorants eat fish and there are a lot more Cormorants now than a few years ago (note the emphasis!), and the fishing isn‘t as good as it once was, then the Cormorants must be at fault. It couldn’t be that maybe we have collectively changed the ecology of the Lake so much as to change their fishing?!

So it’s kind of sad to see the State of Ohio killing ’vermin’ and using our tax dollars to do it !! There has even been some talk about killing Black Vultures, since these ‘vermin’ prey on a helpless farmer’s livestock. I wonder if the “Chicken Hawks” will be next!

--- Anders Fjeldstad ---

Lake Metroparks presents

Bird Watching Events

Free Bird Walks

Wednesdays, April 9, 30, May 14, & 28, 8 to 10 a.m., Chagrin River Park

Wednesdays, May 7 & 21, 8 to 10 a.m., Girdled Road South

Sundays, April 13, 20, 27, May 4, 11, & 18, 7:30 to 10 a.m., Penitentiary Glen

Exciting Overnight Trips

Early Birds & Blooms Fri., April 11 to Sun., April 13 $315

Spend 3 days in southern Ohio getting an early glimpse of spring birds & flowers.

Migration Madness Overnight Sun., May 18 to Mon., May 19 $185

Ohio’s hotspots along Lake Erie & early Monday morning on the Magee Marsh boardwalk.

Economical Birding Day Trips

Sat, April 26 8 am to 5 pm Downtown Cleveland Birding Downtown! $40

Sat, May 3 7 am to 6 pm Early Migration Day Trip Magee Marsh $40

Check Parks Plus or www.lakemetroparks.com for more day trips!!

For regular updates on Lake Metroparks birding programs, contact mhuey@lakemetroparks.com to receive a bi-monthly birding e-mail bulletin.

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.

BLACKBROOK AUDUBON SOCIETY

PO Box 1306

Mentor, OH 44060-1306

Nancy Dilgren - President

Bruce Roberts - Editor

"There is a natural bond of affinity between those who have gone to the fields in March to hear the tinkle of the Horned Larks on the frozen ground; or in the hope of seeing a Meadowlark in the snowy stubble; or a group of early Bluebirds on fence or wire. There is deep understanding among those who have heard the mystical nuptial flight song of the Woodcock at an April dusk; who have been surprised by the bubbling rapture of the Ruby-Crown’s mating song in the budding woods in early May; who have listened with moist eyes to the Robins singing in the rain, with its nostalgic memories of childhood; or who have waited in a reverent and breathless silence, while the Wood Thrush chimed his bells in June twilight.”

FRED PATTEE wrote this prose that rises to poetry in a letter to the North Shore Bird Club of Evanston, Illinois, on February 3^rd, 1940, after the death of his wife, Bertha, the club‘s founder and its President from 1919 to 1939.

This quote is taken from the Frontispiece of the book A Birder’s Guide to the Chicago Region, which was written by Lynne Carpenter and Joel Greenberg and published in 1999. Would that we in the Cleveland region had such a wonderful book showing all the great places to bird in our local area.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Register online at lakemetroparks.com or by phone at (440) 358-7275 or 800-669-9226.

Mentor, OH 44060-1306

Bruce Roberts - Editor