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PGBird
Jul 30, 2009, 1:16:04 PM7/30/09
to LMPBirders
July 30, 2009
With the end of July comes the need for birders and bird watchers to
refresh their shorebird identification skills. You may feel that you
haven't achieved enough skill in that area to have much to refresh,
but I think it's a good goal to try to add a bird or two every season
to my list of birds I'm pretty sure about! And the only way to do
that is head out to the beaches and the mudflats with a book and
binoculars and try over and over to pick through the little flocks and
figure out what they are. Patience is important since shorebird
colors are rather limited and markings aren't as distinct as I would
prefer. Ann Bugeda took her lawn chair out to Conneaut earlier this
week and that sounds like a good idea! And she scored that piping
plover that appeared for several days and an avocet. The more often
you are able to get out especially to the same place, the better your
chances of seeing interesting birds and the faster your identification
skills improve. I'm a big fan of the Beginner's Guide to Shorebirds
by Donald and Lillian Stokes -- I like the way it's organized and it
helps me focus on characteristics that enable me to narrow down the
possibilities faster.
Which brings me to our next day trip. On Saturday, August 15, Dan and
I will take you out to areas that are currently attracting
shorebirds. Dan is good on shorebirds and we travel with scopes which
is helpful if you don't have your own (Dan or the scope). There are
still openings and we'd love to have you join us!! You can register
for Shorebirds on the Move by calling 440-357-7275 or on-line at
http://reservations.lakemetroparks.com/programs/index.shtml?id=8964
The cost of this day trip is $40 and you'll need to bring along a
brown bag lunch. If you have any questions, give me a call at
440-256-2114 on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
Last week, Jim McCarty's column mentioned some interesting local
sightings. LMP's own John Poganick heard a sedge wren and a Henslow's
sparrow at Chagrin River park during one of his regular surveys early
last week. I made two trips over there at the end of the week and
found the wren easily, but not the Henslow's. This morning, I
couldn't find Jim column on the web, so I read Jim McCormac's blog
instead (http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/). Jim works for the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources and is an enthusiastic and versatile
naturalist. He always has as interesting perspective to share. You
might enjoy it, too!
The baby bird parade continues in my backyard -- how about in yours?
Monday evening, it was a very successful family of blue jays -- they
had 3 fledgling in various versions of blue and gray feathers -- and
what a noisy crew they were. I had heard them several times during
the day, but seeing them was lots of fun.
Finally, here is a link to LMP's new leaflet of the bird walks and
trips through the end of November. You can register now for the
August programs and beginning Monday, 8/3, if you live in Lake County,
you'll be able to register for programs offered through the end of
November. You can print it out for the refridgerator or bookmark it
for easy access later. Be sure to compare it to your calendar and
pick one of two of the programs when you can join us for some fall
birding!!
http://www.lakemetroparks.com/programs/activities/documents/LMP_Bird_Watching_Events_fall_09.pdf
See you on a mudflat somewhere!!
Mary Huey
Interpretive Naturalist
Lake Metroparks
mh...@lakemetroparks.com
With the end of July comes the need for birders and bird watchers to
refresh their shorebird identification skills. You may feel that you
haven't achieved enough skill in that area to have much to refresh,
but I think it's a good goal to try to add a bird or two every season
to my list of birds I'm pretty sure about! And the only way to do
that is head out to the beaches and the mudflats with a book and
binoculars and try over and over to pick through the little flocks and
figure out what they are. Patience is important since shorebird
colors are rather limited and markings aren't as distinct as I would
prefer. Ann Bugeda took her lawn chair out to Conneaut earlier this
week and that sounds like a good idea! And she scored that piping
plover that appeared for several days and an avocet. The more often
you are able to get out especially to the same place, the better your
chances of seeing interesting birds and the faster your identification
skills improve. I'm a big fan of the Beginner's Guide to Shorebirds
by Donald and Lillian Stokes -- I like the way it's organized and it
helps me focus on characteristics that enable me to narrow down the
possibilities faster.
Which brings me to our next day trip. On Saturday, August 15, Dan and
I will take you out to areas that are currently attracting
shorebirds. Dan is good on shorebirds and we travel with scopes which
is helpful if you don't have your own (Dan or the scope). There are
still openings and we'd love to have you join us!! You can register
for Shorebirds on the Move by calling 440-357-7275 or on-line at
http://reservations.lakemetroparks.com/programs/index.shtml?id=8964
The cost of this day trip is $40 and you'll need to bring along a
brown bag lunch. If you have any questions, give me a call at
440-256-2114 on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
Last week, Jim McCarty's column mentioned some interesting local
sightings. LMP's own John Poganick heard a sedge wren and a Henslow's
sparrow at Chagrin River park during one of his regular surveys early
last week. I made two trips over there at the end of the week and
found the wren easily, but not the Henslow's. This morning, I
couldn't find Jim column on the web, so I read Jim McCormac's blog
instead (http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/). Jim works for the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources and is an enthusiastic and versatile
naturalist. He always has as interesting perspective to share. You
might enjoy it, too!
The baby bird parade continues in my backyard -- how about in yours?
Monday evening, it was a very successful family of blue jays -- they
had 3 fledgling in various versions of blue and gray feathers -- and
what a noisy crew they were. I had heard them several times during
the day, but seeing them was lots of fun.
Finally, here is a link to LMP's new leaflet of the bird walks and
trips through the end of November. You can register now for the
August programs and beginning Monday, 8/3, if you live in Lake County,
you'll be able to register for programs offered through the end of
November. You can print it out for the refridgerator or bookmark it
for easy access later. Be sure to compare it to your calendar and
pick one of two of the programs when you can join us for some fall
birding!!
http://www.lakemetroparks.com/programs/activities/documents/LMP_Bird_Watching_Events_fall_09.pdf
See you on a mudflat somewhere!!
Mary Huey
Interpretive Naturalist
Lake Metroparks
mh...@lakemetroparks.com
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