You just never know!
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PGBird
Apr 22, 2010, 4:19:59 PM4/22/10
to LMPBirders
Thursday, April 22, 2010
If there's one thing we can say about bird watching and birding, it's
that you just never know what you might see! Some days are a bust and
there's one like our day trip to the Columbus, Ohio area last
Saturday.
We started at Greenlawn Cemetery on the south side of town -- it's a
150 year old landscape style cemetery that's known for "the pit", an
old stone quarry that attracts lots of migrating birds. But not this
day! Instead we had to "settle" for a pair of great horned owlets in
a nearby tree who had just left the nest a couple days before. They
were standing on limbs in plain sight and we could see them from every
angle -- what a thrill! Our next stop in the cemetery was the old
iron bridge and the little valley that runs under it -- another "hot
spot" -- while trying to seperate hermit thrushes from white-throated
sparrows, a whip-poor-will was spotted sleeping on a branch. Once
again, we were able to see it from many angles and for many of us, it
was our first daylight sighting of this nocturnal feeding bird.
As we worked our way to the Westerville area and the Hoover Resevoir,
we traveled through Bexley in the hopes of spotting the nesting yellow-
crowned night herons that had been reported two weeks earlier on the
Ohio birding list serve. We found the street which is lined with
large stately old sycamores trees and sure enough, there were 2 or 3
nests. As soon as we piled out of the van, a pair put on a little
courting display for us -- well, probably not for us, but it was very
exciting to be able to observe it!
A couple weeks ago, I visited the Indian Art Exhibit at the Cleveland
Museum of Art -- there were beautiful baskets woven with all sorts of
natural materials by a California tribe. One of the frequently
mentioned materials was "rootlets" -- I found myself wondering how
anyone would think of that as a potential fiber for weaving. The
following Wednesday on the morning birdwalk at Lakeshore Reservation
in Perry, we watched a pair of blue jays bringing materials to a
nest. One of them appeared with a beak full of rootlets -- the answer
to my question. Likely an Indian weaver made a similar observation
hundreds of years ago and thought, hmmmm.
And yesterday, (4/21), a friend e-mailed me that just as she arrived
at Chagrin River Park in Willoughby, two calling sandhill cranes flew
overhead. All this is to say, the more we stay out there, the more we
see. Take the time in your spring birding to enjoy the behavior of
the birds -- don't just check them off on your list -- stop and
watch. You might see something you've never seen before.
This coming Wednesday, 4/28, join naturalist, Ann Bugeda, for a
Weekday Bird Walk at Chagrin River Park in Willoughby (meet at the
Reeves Rd. parking lot). The walk begins at 7:30 a.m. (many of you
requested starting this spring walks earlier) and will conclude around
10 a.m. The program is FREE but registration is appreciated.
The Sunday Morning Bird Walks continue at Penitentiary Glen
Reservation through 5/16 and begin at 7:30 a.m. These hikes go
regardless of the weather and are part of the regional Audubon bird
walks which have been conducted around the greater Cleveland area for
over 90 years.
Finally, don't forget to join us at Chagrin River Park on Saturday
morning, May 8 -- there will be a bird walk at 7 a.m. plus other
programs for the remainder of the morning!
Mary Huey
Interpretive Naturalist
Lake Metroparks
440-256-2119
mh...@lakemetroparks.com
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If there's one thing we can say about bird watching and birding, it's
that you just never know what you might see! Some days are a bust and
there's one like our day trip to the Columbus, Ohio area last
Saturday.
We started at Greenlawn Cemetery on the south side of town -- it's a
150 year old landscape style cemetery that's known for "the pit", an
old stone quarry that attracts lots of migrating birds. But not this
day! Instead we had to "settle" for a pair of great horned owlets in
a nearby tree who had just left the nest a couple days before. They
were standing on limbs in plain sight and we could see them from every
angle -- what a thrill! Our next stop in the cemetery was the old
iron bridge and the little valley that runs under it -- another "hot
spot" -- while trying to seperate hermit thrushes from white-throated
sparrows, a whip-poor-will was spotted sleeping on a branch. Once
again, we were able to see it from many angles and for many of us, it
was our first daylight sighting of this nocturnal feeding bird.
As we worked our way to the Westerville area and the Hoover Resevoir,
we traveled through Bexley in the hopes of spotting the nesting yellow-
crowned night herons that had been reported two weeks earlier on the
Ohio birding list serve. We found the street which is lined with
large stately old sycamores trees and sure enough, there were 2 or 3
nests. As soon as we piled out of the van, a pair put on a little
courting display for us -- well, probably not for us, but it was very
exciting to be able to observe it!
A couple weeks ago, I visited the Indian Art Exhibit at the Cleveland
Museum of Art -- there were beautiful baskets woven with all sorts of
natural materials by a California tribe. One of the frequently
mentioned materials was "rootlets" -- I found myself wondering how
anyone would think of that as a potential fiber for weaving. The
following Wednesday on the morning birdwalk at Lakeshore Reservation
in Perry, we watched a pair of blue jays bringing materials to a
nest. One of them appeared with a beak full of rootlets -- the answer
to my question. Likely an Indian weaver made a similar observation
hundreds of years ago and thought, hmmmm.
And yesterday, (4/21), a friend e-mailed me that just as she arrived
at Chagrin River Park in Willoughby, two calling sandhill cranes flew
overhead. All this is to say, the more we stay out there, the more we
see. Take the time in your spring birding to enjoy the behavior of
the birds -- don't just check them off on your list -- stop and
watch. You might see something you've never seen before.
This coming Wednesday, 4/28, join naturalist, Ann Bugeda, for a
Weekday Bird Walk at Chagrin River Park in Willoughby (meet at the
Reeves Rd. parking lot). The walk begins at 7:30 a.m. (many of you
requested starting this spring walks earlier) and will conclude around
10 a.m. The program is FREE but registration is appreciated.
The Sunday Morning Bird Walks continue at Penitentiary Glen
Reservation through 5/16 and begin at 7:30 a.m. These hikes go
regardless of the weather and are part of the regional Audubon bird
walks which have been conducted around the greater Cleveland area for
over 90 years.
Finally, don't forget to join us at Chagrin River Park on Saturday
morning, May 8 -- there will be a bird walk at 7 a.m. plus other
programs for the remainder of the morning!
Mary Huey
Interpretive Naturalist
Lake Metroparks
440-256-2119
mh...@lakemetroparks.com
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To post to this group, send email to lmpbi...@googlegroups.com.
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