NOVEMBER ACTIVITY

DATE: SUNDAY, NOV. 16^th, 2008

ACTIVITY: Waterfowl Watch

TIME: 8:30 a.m.

PLACE: Mentor Beach Park

Here it is the middle of fall and the waterfowl should be moving in earnest. Join us as we scan the near shores of Lake Erie for migrating ducks, loons, and grebes. We will meet at the Mentor Beach Park in Mentor on the Lake and from their carpool or caravan to the Eastlake power plant, Sims Park, and on to East 72 Street in Cleveland. If you have one, please bring your scope as the searching may be a little farther out. We will also be watching for the late migrating Cave Swallows that were seen a couple years ago (an Ohio record). So who knows what “treasures” may pass us by this year. Dress for the weather as it can be very variable this time of year. The fun awaits!

Directions: Mentor Beach Park is located at the north end of Andrews road in Mentor on the Lake. Take Lakeshore Blvd. (RT 283) either from the east or west to get to Mentor on the Lake, which is between RT 306 and RT 615. The park is on Lake Erie, just north of the three way stop.

DECEMBER ACTIVITY

DATE: Saturday, DEC. 27th, 2008 ACTIVITY: MENTOR XMAS BIRD COUNT

TIME: all day!

PLACE: Lake County, Ohio

The date for our Christmas Bird Count will be on the ‘normal’ day we always try to have it: the “4^th Saturday in December”. So most of us will have recovered from full Christmas mode and will be ready and able to bird all day Saturday. At least we hope so.

Christmas Bird Counts have been an Audubon tradition since 1900, when some Birdwatchers in Massachusetts and a few other states decided to count birds on that day rather than shoot them.

But Blackbrook and the folks in Lake County have only been doing the Christmas Count since the 1940’s, and not even every year. But since the late sixties, Blackbrook has regularly gone out in the field for both fun and counting. This year, our chapter will do it once again; why don’t you come with us?

If you’d like to join one of the happy (but usually cold) groups that are going out in the fields and forest to count birds, call Anders at (440) 257-7611 OR e-mail him at deneb59@hotmail.com !! Even if you’d like to help for a few hours or all day!

Or if you would like to help, but would rather stay home, why not become one of our “FEEDER COUNTERS”? These folks spend a few minutes a day to count the birds at their Bird Feeders and later report the results at the phone number OR the e-mail ’address’ above. We can use as many Feeder Counters as we can get!! Christmas Birds Counts can be fun for everyone!

JANUARY ACTIVITY

DATE: Sunday January 18th 2009

ACTIVITY: Geauga County Amish Areas

TIME: 9:00 A.M.

PLACE: Meet at Best Lake parking lot

Join us for one of our favorite annual treks into Geauga County. Let’s get out of the “cabin” and possibly see Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs and maybe even a Wilson’s Snipe. Of course we will be watching for Rough-legged Hawks and other wintering raptors that love the “Amish” countryside. We will carpool or caravan from Best Lake parking lot, which is just south of Chardon on the right-hand side of Ohio Route 44. Hayes Road, Swine Creek, and Headwaters Park are our main destinations. So dress for the weather, scopes are very helpful, and lets have fun.

If you need more info please call Jim McConnor at 440-257-2507.

Go WILD this Winter at Geauga Park District

Cooler temps and shorter days aren’t just for hibernating, migrating, nor curling up with a good book…make it a time for WILD NIGHTS at Geauga Park District! This newest of their popular large scale exhibits, will run from November 1, 2008 through March 1, 2009 at The West Woods Nature Center, 9465 Kinsman Road (Rt. 87), in Russell Township.

“WILD NIGHTS, Nature at Night and Underground”, is brimming over with exciting and innovative hands-on activities designed to introduce us to the amazing creatures who work the second shift and those who spend much of their time underground. From raccoons and flying squirrels to coyotes and ants, Wild Nights offers insight into a realm of nature often overlooked. Some of the special features in the main exhibit hall include:

Underground Ant Nest: Kids can crawl into an “ant hill” to see what these amazing insects are up to underground.

Life in a Log: see a cross section of a rotten log and be amazed to find out how much activity goes on there.

Basement Builders: Check out 5 unique dioramas featuring animals that burrow and live in dens.

Tiny Tunnels: Look through peepholes to see the smallest underground creatures around.

Bat Facts: learn all about the amazing abilities of these “Dark Knights” and how they use their prey-seeking sonar.

Nectaring at Night: some flowers appear in ultra-violet to nectar-seeking moths. You’ll see them glow in all their glory!

Eyes on the Highway: sit behind the wheel of a car driving through the dark and encounter animals by eye shine and silhouettes.

Night Gallery: will feature push-button animal sound panels and cut away tree trunks with viewing portals showing video of nocturnal cavity critters.

The edutainment continues in the Center’s classroom with hands-on stations that foster a greater appreciation for wildlife by increasing awareness of senses and the diversity of insects and other animals that are active in the dark with fun, engaging activities for all ages.

You will also want to mark your calendar for the free companion speaker series, which is slated for 2 pm on the following Sunday afternoons at Notre Dame Educational Center (13000 Auburn Road, 1 mile South of Mayfield Rd):

11/16/08 “Bats, Bats and More Bats!”

(Tim Krynak)

11/30/08 “Night Songs with Foster Brown”

12/28/08 “Flying Squirrels:

Amazing Gliders of the Night”

(Kim Hinkle)

1/4/09 “Owls: Wild Wings of the Night”

(Harvey Webster)

1/18/09 “Midnight Marauders-

On the Trail of Coyotes”

(Stan Gehrt)

2/1/09 “Mammals Underground”

(Lake Metroparks)

2/15/09 “Amphibian Amour: Jumpin’

in the Gene Pool”

(Dan Best & Friends)

3/1/09 “Sense-sational Moths”

(Mark Rsezetarski)

For more information on Wild Nights, please contact Geauga Park District at 440-286-9516 or visit www.geaugaparkdistrict.org.

FROM the DESK of the PRESIDENT

I have always had birds in my life in one way or another. As a small child my father who was an avid feeder watcher and wildlife gardener introduced me to bird watching. I remember him pointing out birds in the yard and not necessarily focusing on the names of the birds but their behaviors and field markings. As I recall he was not that good at remembering names. As a teenager, I got away from bird watching, and focused on social aspects of life. I did however have a parakeet! I think that should count for something. In college, I took an ornithology course, which helped me to revisit my fondness of the hobby.

About 6 years ago I decided I was going to really pursue bird watching as a hobby and become very knowledgeable on the subject. I was a fairly new birdwatcher at the time. I took daily walks to various bird habitats, learning things on my own, trying to identify birds with books. I decided I needed some help with the learning process so I checked out various local organizations looking for anything to feed my eager brain with bird knowledge. What I found is that there are many nature/ bird organizations out there, but very few that lead regularly schedule free bird walks or field trip. I then came across a Hushwing Herald. I noticed Blackbrook held monthly walks at least 10 times a year with very knowledgeable friendly volunteers. I learned a lot from them over the years. I credit Blackbrook Audubon volunteers (you know who you are) for helping me get to a level today where now I am one of the bird walk volunteers.

Today if you count the IBA walks, spring bird walks and walks we lead for other organizations, the number of field trips has increased to more than 45 walks a year. We travel locally in Lake, Geauga and Cuyahoga County. We occasionally venture to other parts of Ohio too. We could not do this many walks without the volunteers and birdwatchers that dedicate their time and knowledge to the walks. I not only speak for myself and I am sure our other field trip leaders feel the same way, some of the joys we have with bird watching are teaching and learning from new or experienced birdwatchers that participate in our programs. Whether you are a new or experienced birdwatcher, consider joining us on a few field trips this year! Share your love for this life long learning hobby, birdwatching.

I am happy to announce one of my bird watching friends Lisa Casamatta has accepted the position of Publicity Chair for Blackbrook. Lisa has volunteered for many organizations including Mayfield City Schools, Ohio Ornithological Society and The Holden Arboretum. She has been a Blackbrook friend for a few years and has gone on various field trips. She currently works for The Holden Arboretum as an instructor for the Growing Students and Science Program. Lisa looks forward to this new endeavor. She is eager to promote our meetings and field trips at local library and various publications. Please welcome Lisa to the position.

A Holiday Gift Idea

Do you have someone on your holiday gift list who is difficult to buy for? Is this person interested in nature? Then why not consider getting them a membership in Friends of Blackbrook. We will put them on our mailing list and send them the Hushwing Herald four times a year to keep them abreast of all the great activities that Blackbrook has planned.

Friends of Blackbrook Audubon

Name ____________________________

Address __________________________

_________________________________

City ___________ State ___ Zip _______

Amount of Donation: ___ $20 ____ $30

___ $40 ____ Other

Please make checks payable to: Blackbrook Audubon Society and mail to: James McConnor 5758 Beech Dr. Mentor on the Lake, OH 44060

Project FeederWatch Benefits Birds and People
Connection with nature promotes wellness

Ithaca, NY- More than 100 studies have shown that getting closer to nature reduces stress and promotes a feeling of well-being in children and adults. So, filling feeders and counting the birds that visit may be just what the doctor ordered! For more than 20 years, that’s what participants in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch have been doing-benefiting themselves and the birds.
      "It is a great winter time activity for the whole family," says Alaska FeederWatcher Nancy Darnell. "If you have children, they will come to love watching the birds. All of this is fun and a chance to contribute to scientific studies, too!"
      The 2008-09 season of Project FeederWatch gets underway November 8 and runs through April 3. Participants count the numbers and kinds of birds at their feeders each week and send the information to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Participants submitted more than 115,000 checklists during the 2007-08 FeederWatch season, documenting unusual bird sightings, winter movements, and shifting ranges-a treasure-trove of information that scientists use to monitor the health of the birds and of the environment.
      “Being a FeederWatcher is easy and fun, and at the same time helps generate the world’s largest database on feeder-bird populations,” says project leader David Bonter. “We are grateful for the contributions our participants have made for the birds and are proud of the joy they say it brings to their busy lives. Since we started in 1987, more than 40,000 people have submitted observations, engaging with the wildlife beyond their windows.”

“Project FeederWatch opened up a whole new world for me,” says participant Cheri Ryan of Lockport, Kentucky. “It’s so interesting to watch the activities of the birds. I learn something new each time I participate.”
     Scientists learn something new from the data each year, too, whether it’s about the movements of common backyard birds or unusual sightings of rarely seen species. Highlights of the most recent season include the largest southward movement of Red-breasted Nuthatches in the history of the project-part of an expected influx of northern birds that fly farther south when their food supplies run short. Other northern species showing up in record numbers included Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins. Among the rare birds reported was a Streak-backed Oriole in Loveland, Colorado-the state’s first report of this bird, native to Mexico. A December nor’easter deposited a Dovekie in Newton, Massachusetts, the first time this North Atlantic seabird has ever been reported to Project FeederWatch.
     Long-term data show some species increasing in number, such as the Lesser Goldfinch in the Southwest. Other populations continue a downward trend, such as the Evening Grosbeak throughout their range. Once one of the most common species seen at feeders in the northern half of the continent, the grosbeaks are declining for unknown reasons.
      Beyond the benefits to birds and science, however, is the benefit to participants. “Nature is not merely an amenity; it is critical to healthy human development and functioning,” says Nancy Wells, Cornell University assistant professor of design and environmental analysis. Her studies find that a view of nature through the window or access to the environment in any way improves a child’s cognitive functioning and reduces the negative effects of stress on the child’s psychological well being. Wells also notes that when children spent time with nature early in life it carries over to their adult attitudes and behavior toward the environment.
      Project FeederWatch welcomes participants of all ages and skill levels, from scout troops and retirees to classrooms and nature center visitors. To learn more and to sign up, visit http://www.feederwatch.org or call the Lab toll-free at (800) 843-2473. In return for the $15 fee ($12 for Lab members) participants receive the FeederWatcher’s Handbook, an identification poster of the most common feeder birds in their area, a calendar, complete instructions, and the FeederWatch annual report, Winter Bird Highlights.

News and Views

by Anders Fjeldstadt

I. OSPREY PLATFORM in Mentor Marsh

In the coming winter months, you might be driving along the road west of the entrance to Mentor Headlands State Park (“Headlands Road”) and as you driver on the bridge over Shipman Pond (that’s the big pond in Mentor Marsh) you just might notice an OSPREY PLATFORM!

Yes, after a number of years with a number of us in Blackbrook Audubon wishin' and hopin' for an Osprey Platform there, it is finally going to happen! A local Boy Scout ( Matt Vendeville from Perry ) has assembled a Osprey Nesting Platform and will be putting it on a tall wooden pole out on the east side of Shipman Pond. Though we in Blackbrook Audubon gave him a little help, some other local folks (notable from Mentor Marsh, the State of Ohio, and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History) also lent a hand. By the time you read this, there could be articles in the local papers and perhaps on the websites of ODNR and the Museum. In any case, we'll have an expansive article about Ospreys and Osprey Platforms in the next issue of this newsletter.

II. Spreading the Words about Birds ( & Nature & Ecology & etc. )

A few weeks ago I went to my Doctor for my annual checkup. Well, he was running ' a few minutes late' and I had failed to bring even a newspaper with me (my usual practice). So here I was in the Doctors Office with time to spare. Nothing to do but to amble over to the stack of year-old (or more) magazines to see if I could find one I'd be interested enough to read. Well, all the magazines were either Golf Magazines (an activity I have less than zero interest in) OR the ubiquitous 'Women's Magazines' (not much more interest there either). Aarrggg ....

Later that day I was home collecting several months worth of "Audubon", "Bird Watcher's Digest”, and a few other magazines we get in order to pass them along to a few family members and friends and take the rest to the metal Recycling Dumpster at the local Metropark.

And, just like in the cartoons, a Light Bulb went off in my head. Why, I should have taken a few of these Magazines to the Doctor's Office! Imagine if you and I were to leave one or two old copies of "Audubon" or "Bird Watcher's Digest" or some other nature or birding magazines (copies that you weren't using anymore and were trying to get rid of!) in the offices of your Doctor or your Dentist, the Barber or the Beauty Shop, the Optometrist or your Veterinarian, or any and all of the other Waiting Rooms you end up waiting in!

Now imagine, if you will, hundreds and thousands (well, maybe not thousands!) of people introduced to the wonders of Nature and the joys of Bird Watching and the incredible Idea that maybe, just maybe, we should do a little ‘Something’ to keep our Water clean, our Air breathable, our Birds alive and flying, and our Wildlife living and breathing! What an easy way to Spread the Word about Birds!

III. PAULA VAN NATTA :

In late spring, we learned that Paula Van Natta had passed away on February 14th in Decatur, Alabama. She had been Blackbrook’s President in the late 80’s and early 90’s and a very active member of our Chapter for a number of years. And during that same time, she was also working on her Masters Degree in Botany from Kent and did a number of botanical surveys in our local area, especially at the Holden Arboretum and also in the area that ultimately became Mentor Lagoons.

But she was also a quilter and a doll collector as well as active in her church. So some of us saw her in many different venues. But then she moved with her husband Tom to Alabama over 15 years ago and we kind of lost touch. But we remember her with kindness and it is with sorrow and sadness that we report her passing. Our heartfelt condolences go out to her husband and children.

IV. AOU CHECKLIST UPDATE 2008 :

The Checklist Committee from the AOU (that is, the “American Ornithological Union” -- it’s the professional group of scientists that study birds) this last July released their now yearly changes in the Taxonomy of Birds (where they change the Names and the taxonomic order of Birds and sometimes drive us Birders crazy doing it !! ). This year, like some of the other years, the News was pretty much “un-Important “ and could pretty much be ignored by the average Bird Watcher.

But, just in case, we’ll summarize this news for all you above-average Birders ( !! ) who do want to know (and who wouldn’t?). The big news is that the AOU Checklist Committee has shuffled the deck on the Gull Family. Until July, most of the Gulls in the US were in the genus Larus, except for a few species like the two Kittiwakes ( genus Rissa ) and the Ivory Gull ( genus Pagophilia ).

Now these latest changes from the Checklist Committee breaks the genus Larus into four separate genera and rearranges the order the Gulls appear in the Checklist and ultimately how they will appear in Bird Checklists and Field Guides. These new changes came about because of the ongoing DNA studies that many Bird Families are undergoing.

So, for now, the large ’White Headed Gulls’ will remain in the genus Larus. But the smaller, ’Black Headed’ or ’Hooded Gulls’ are taken out of Larus and split into three new genera. Firstly, the scientific name of the Bonaparte’s Gull will now be Chroicocephalus philadelphia and that of the related Black Headed Gull will be Chroicocephalus ridibundus. Secondly, the scientific name of the Little Gull is now Hydrocoloeus minutus. And thirdly, the new scientific name of the Laughing Gull is Leucophaeus atricilla and that of the closely related Franklin’s Gull is Leucophaeus pipixan. The remaining species under Larus are still under study and may be further reordered in the future. Especially tantalizing is the idea ( this is in the very last paragraph of their 11 page report ! ) that the Herring Gull may be split into three species and that the Orchard Oriole may be split into two species !

Another change is the news that the Greater Flamingo ( in Eurasia and America ) was split into two species: the Eurasian bird is still called the Greater Flamingo and the American bird is now called ( what else ! ) the American Flamingo. This division is best shown in the Sibley Field Guide. They also placed the Flamingo Family right after the Grebe Family.

Most of the other changes are to birds that appear on the periphery of the US, like along the southern border, and to birds we never see unless we go birding in Texas or Arizona. If you want a real thrill, why not Google up the entire 11-page report entitled “Forty-Ninth Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-List of North American Birds “. Enjoy !!

Toner Cartridge Recycle Program

Blackbrook Audubon continues to collect used inkjet and laser toner cartridges to recycle. The cartridges we need have a manufacturer’s name on them and have not been previously recycled. Anything that says “compatible with” or “not OEM” are not acceptable.

Please bring your used cartridges to any Blackbrook program, bird walk or field trip. We collect these until we have a minimum of 25 to ship to Collect, Inc. We appreciate the opportunity to turn “trash into cash” to benefit Blackbrook’s mission of conservation and education.

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Ann Wagner at maryannelizebeth@aol.com.

BLACKBROOK AUDUBON SOCIETY

PO Box 1306

Mentor, OH 44060-1306

Becky Thompson - President

Bruce Roberts - Editor

UPCOMING EVENTS

A Holiday Gift Idea

News and Views

Toner Cartridge Recycle Program

Becky Thompson - President