Migration Birding

[PGBird]

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Good afternoon! It's beginning to feel like fall -- the quality of
the light is changing, the trees are beginning to show hints of color,
and the birds in our yards and parks are changing. I still had a
catbird this past Friday morning and the juncos haven't arrived yet,
but things are changing fast!

Our trip to the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary's 75th anniversary in
Pennsylvania this past weekend was interesting. We got to see what
hawks do on rainy overcast days (nothing) and what they do on sunny
days with a north wind (migrate). We also had a chance to enjoy
interesting programs about the history of the preserve and it's
founder, Mrs. Rosalie Edge. Hawk Mountain has been and continues to
be a dynamic force in the preservation of raptors in the Western
Hemisphere. Spring and Fall are great times to visit during hawk
migrations, but a visit at any time of the year will help you
appreciate the importance of their mission.

Tomorrow morning, I'll be leading a morning bird walk at Chagrin River
Park in Willoughby and we'll see who has left, who is passing through,
and who is staying! We'll begin at 8 a.m. in the main parking lot on
Reeves Rd. The construction continues at the intersection of Rt. 2
and Lost Nation Rd. so you should leave a little extra time for
traveling through that area. If you are coming from the west
(Cleveland), you can exit at Lost Nation, but not get back on there.
Don't worry, I'll help you get back to a different entrance at the end
of hike. Follow Lost Nation north from the freeway and follow the
detour signs onto Hurricane Dr and to Reeves Rd. We'll finish around
10 a.m. I hope you'll join me!!

Saturday, September 19, Pat Morse will be leading a monthly bird walk
at Penitentiary Glen Reservation from 8 to 9:30 p.m. The September
bird list at the Glen has some great species on it and who knows what
will be here by Saturday!

Saturday, September 26, we are headed to Lake Erie Metropark south of
Detroit to take in some of the large migration of hawks that occurs at
that end of Lake Erie. If you'd like to join us, please call or go on-
line and add your name to the waiting list!! We are very close to
being able to add another vehicle!! This will be lawn chair birding
and give you a great opportunity to improve your "hawks-over-head"
skills!! The name of the program is Southeast Michigan Hawk Watch
Day, the fee is $40, and we'll be gone from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can
register by calling 800-669-9226 or going to the website:
http://reservations.lakemetroparks.com/programs/9384/

Finally, it's time to get the feeder area in your yard ready for
winter. A clean up of seed residue and your feeders is a good idea if
you've been feeding all summer. And you might think about adding a
simple water source to your feeding station. I saw a significant
impact last winter during the long cold spell we had -- no water, no
birds! So it's one of the things I'm going to try to do this year.

If you are going to the Midwest Birding Symposium this weekend at
Lakeside, Ohio, have a great time soaking up all things birding!!

Mary Huey
mh...@lakemetroparks.com
Interpretive Naturalist
Lake Metroparks