Time to bird!!
PGBird
Good afternoon, fellow bird nerds! I'm just back from a long weekend
in South Carolina and it's time to get ready for the big push!! The
bluebirds in my daughter's back yard regrettably lost their first
clutch on Saturday night, but were already reorganizing to try again
in the neighboring box. Palm warblers were scratching around the
edges of her lawn. Fresh tiger swallowtails were visiting the holly
bushes in bloom. And the red-tailed hawks were circling and calling
all afternoon on Sunday.
Lake Metroparks birding season has begun in ernest! This Sunday marks
the beginning of the annual Sunday morning bird walks at Penitentiary
Glen. I think this will be the 29th year since the park system joined
this long standing regional group of spring walks. We step off from
the front entrance of the Nature Center at 7:30 a.m. and are usually
finished between 9:30 and 10 a.m. The Louisiana waterthrush has
already been heard in the ravine! The walks continue every Sunday
morning through May 16!
For those of you who are newer to birding, starting to go out and seek
the birds in mid-April is good preparation for the rush of migrating
birds that occurs in May. Your binocular skills will be better and
the field guide will be more familiar and you'll be more confident.
You'll recognize (and be able to ignore) the calls of residents birds
by early May so that you can hone in on the calls of migrating species
that don't sound so familiar. And the birds are easier to spot with
less foliage during these early weeks.
The Weekday Spring Bird Walks continue on Wednesday, 4/14. We'll meet
at Lakeshore Reservation in Perry at 8 a.m. and walk until 10 a.m.
(ish). All of these walks are free but registration is appreciated so
our walk leaders are prepared.
Thanks to your resounding interest in the Sneak Peak - Spring
Migration day trip to the Columbus area on Saturday, April 17, we have
added a second vehicle and have 1 space available! First come, first
get!! The cost of the trip is $40 and we'll leave Penitentiary Glen
at 7:30 that morning and return around 6 p.m.! Remember that spring
in Central Ohio is usually a week ahead of the lakeshore region!
I'm looking forward to meeting you out there this spring!!!
Mary Huey
mh...@lakemetroparks.com
Interpretive Naturalist
Lake Metroparks
440-256-2119