<![CDATA[Western Cuyahoga Audubon - Member Meetings - Announcements and Recordings]]>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:58:28 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[WCAS Speaker Series November 2025: RaptorQuest: Chasing America’s Raptors]]>Thu, 06 Nov 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/wcas-speaker-series-november-2025-raptorquest-chasing-americas-raptors
]]><![CDATA[November 2025-January 2026 Speaker Series]]>Wed, 22 Oct 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/november-2025-january-2026-speaker-series
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For the months of November through March, when weather can be iffy and night comes early, the programs will be via Zoom only. WCAS members, guests and friends are always welcome via Zoom. RSVP via the WCAS Calendar or sign up for the WCAS newsletter to receive the Zoom links.
November Program: “RaptorQuest: Chasing America’s Raptors”
Presenter: Scott Harris, photographer and author
Date & Time: November 4, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom only 
Description: Author Scott Harris will share with us his journey to find all 53 raptors that call the lower 48 states home. In his book, RaptorQuest: Chasing’s America’s Raptors, Scott found all 53 species, along with a Bat Falcon, Steller’s Sea Eagle, and Eurasian Eagle Owl! Scott took 17 months and traveled more than 100,000 miles across 34 states. He’ll share his adventures, misadventures, successes, and failures. From minus 36 degree days, to ones over 100 degrees, to getting stuck in the mud, to barely missing a bird, to just arriving in time. As Scott states, “It’s about the raptors, of course, but it’s also about the people I met, the things I learned and why I’m already in the middle of my next big birding adventure.”
December Program: “View Mother Nature’s Boundless Beauty Through the Eyes of a Photographer”
Presenter: Hal Mitcheltree
Date & Time: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom only
Description: Delight your eyes, refresh your spirit, and nourish your brain as Hal Mitcheltree guides you on a visual tour of Mother Nature's gifts from the ground up. Learn how to view the world through the eyes of a photographer and discover a handful of simple visual tools that will help you to see much more of the beauty that is silently, patiently hiding in plain sight all around us.
January Program: “How Birds Created the World and Other Stories from The Complete Language of Birds”
Presenter: Randi Minetor, author and freelance writer
Date & Time: Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom only
Description: In conjunction with the release of her latest book, “The Complete Language of Birds,” this presentation delves into mythologies from around the globe, in which people attempted to explain the world around them by casting birds as creatures even more wondrous than they are in real life. Ancient Egyptians believed that the Earth itself was an egg laid by Gengen-Wer, what we know today as the Egyptian Goose. This remarkable bird earned the moniker “Great Shrieker” when its honk became the first sound ever heard on Earth. The Ojibwa people of the northern plains tell of a Great Flood that swept away the world’s evils, and one man who built a raft to save his bird friends. To restart the world after this destruction, the birds needed to bring a bit of soil up from the bottom of the now-deep sea. He recruited a Loon to attempt the dive, but the Loon came back up with no soil. A Dove tried, but he failed as well. Finally, a lone Coot named Aajigade dove to the bottom—and while the effort nearly killed him, he managed to bring back a bill’s worth of mud. The Earth began anew. Athabaskan stories from the southwest portray American Bitterns as heroes that helped end the Great Flood, swallowing large amounts of floodwater and regurgitating it to form rivers where they were needed most.
]]><![CDATA[WCAS Speaker Series October 2025: The Totally  Awesome Virginia Opossum]]>Wed, 08 Oct 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/wcas-speaker-series-october-2025-the-totally-awesome-virginia-opossum
]]><![CDATA[WCAS Speaker Series September 2025: Lynds Jones - The Birdman of Oberlin]]>Wed, 03 Sep 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/wcas-speaker-series-september-2025-lynds-jones-the-birdman-of-oberlin
]]><![CDATA[September and October 2025 meetings]]>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/september-and-october-2025-meetings
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Programs will take place in person and via Zoom at the Cuyahoga County Library - Fairview Park Branch on Lorain Rd. at 7:00 p.m. during the months of September, October, April and May. For the months of November through March, when weather can be iffy and night comes early, the programs will be via Zoom only. WCAS members, guests and friends are always welcome in person or via Zoom. 
September Program: “Lynds Jones—The Birdman of Oberlin”
Presenter: Diana Steele, avid birder, writer, and member of Black River Audubon Society
Date & Time: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. in person and via Zoom
Location: Fairview Park Branch of the Cuyahoga County Library, 21255 Lorain Rd., Fairview Park 44126
Description: Lynds Jones (1865-1951) was a pioneering ornithologist and ecologist from Ohio who is responsible for many of the common practices that recreational birders take for granted as “standard practice” in the field, more than a century later, including keeping lists, doing Big Days, and the Christmas Bird Count. At Oberlin College in 1892, Jones began teaching ornithology, which was the first course of its kind ever offered at an American college or university. Not only was he a professor at Oberlin for nearly four decades, Jones also had a tremendous impact on the fields of ornithology and recreational birding. He founded both an ornithological society (The Wilson Ornithological Society, 1888) and a journal (now the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 1889); both are active today. Jones was also an early pioneer and mentor in ecology and founded the first-ever department of animal ecology in 1915.
October Program: “The Totally Awesome Virginia Opossum – The Natural and Cultural History of our Only Native Marsupial”
Presenter: Harvey Webster, Board member of Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland and retired Wildlife Officer & Museum Ambassador from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Fairview Park Branch of the Cuyahoga County Library, 21255 Lorain Rd., Fairview Park 44126
Description: This program is a celebration of that often maligned and misunderstood but totally awesome opossum. Besides being a homage to this curious creature that hails from an ancient line of mammals, the program is an exploration of their evolution and natural history. Further we will explore the cultural history of opossums. They have served as cartoon characters, mascots, presidential pets, and have a dark connection to Jim Crow. They have long been served at ‘possum’ dinners in the south and have their own recipe in the Joy of Cooking. There is even a monument to Opossums! All in all, a remarkable creature that deserves some respect and this program aims to give the opossum its due.
]]><![CDATA[June Program: Picnic, Bird Walk, and Plant Exchange]]>Wed, 07 May 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/june-program-picnic-bird-walk-and-plant-exchange
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Photo: Wild Turkey hen and poults in the evening at Hemlock Creek Trail by Michelle Brosius
June Program: Picnic, Bird Walk, and Plant Exchange
Date & Time: Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.
Location: Meeting in person at the Lagoon Picnic Shelter/Picnic area
Description: As we have been doing for the past couple of years, WCAS members and guests are gathering for an evening picnic, bird walk and plant exchange. The picnic is  - bring your own dinner - homemade or purchased, to enjoy in the company of other members and guests. An outdoor, charcoal grill will be started to heat or cook food items. While having dinner, peruse the selection of indoor or outdoor plants brought by members and guests. Seedlings, transplants, seeds, bulbs, small trees and shrubs, vegetable and flower plants may be available. You do not need to bring plants in order to take home plants, everything is free and ready for a loving yard. After dinner, a short bird walk around the Lagoon area will be done. Let’s see how many species we can tally. Plan to attend this event!
]]><![CDATA[May Program: “Birdie Big Year: Elevating Women Birders”]]>Fri, 11 Apr 2025 20:41:51 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/may-program-birdie-big-year-elevating-women-birders
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Cover of Texas Monthly Magazine featuring Tiffany Kersten
May Program: “Birdie Big Year: Elevating Women Birders”
Presenter: Tiffany Kersten, professional bird guide and founder of Nature Ninja Birding Tours
Date & Time: Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. in person and via Zoom
Location: Large Meeting Room at the Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brook Park Branch, at 6155 Engle Road, Brook Park, Ohio 44142
Description: Tiffany Kersten didn't set out to do a Big Year, but after a series of unanticipated and serendipitous events, she suddenly found herself amidst one. As a sexual assault survivor, she spent 2021 traveling to all corners of the Lower 48 States, tallying birds and gifting personal safety alarms to women she met along the way. Her goal was to see 700 species, and to raise awareness of women's safety in the outdoors. She ended up surpassing her goal and setting a new record, of 726 species. In her presentation, Tiffany will lead us through the fear, empowerment, struggles, and healing that all played vital roles in the personal growth she experienced on this wild adventure
]]><![CDATA[April Program: “The Wild World of Wildlife Rehabilitation”]]>Mon, 10 Mar 2025 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/april-program-the-wild-world-of-wildlife-rehabilitation
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Photo: Tim Jasinski holding a Swan
April Program: “The Wild World of Wildlife Rehabilitation”
Presenter: Tim Jasinski, Wildlife Rehabilitation Specialist
Date & Time: Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Description: Who you gonna call? Well, if it's an injured or orphaned bird or other wildlife species, the folks at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center are there to help. Birds striking windows, wildlife tangled in fishing line and hooks, orphaned young animals ... they are all seen and cared for by the dedicated staff at LENSC. Join us as Tim Jasinski, lover of Canada Geese and all gulls (and more), shares with us the success stories of wildlife rehabilitation and how you can be an advocate for wildlife by letting friends and neighbors know how to keep birds from striking windows, why it's important to keep cats indoors, and making parts of your yard wildlife friendly ... and there will be a little surprise.
]]><![CDATA[March Program: “I Only Bird While I’m Awake”]]>Wed, 12 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/march-program-i-only-bird-while-im-awake
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Photo: Male House Finch by Michelle Brosius
March Program: “I Only Bird While I’m Awake”
Presenter: Gary Gerrone, Naturalist, musician, storyteller, and more
Date & Time: Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Description: Conjure up in your mind the image of a stereotypic birdwatcher … then picture yourself working for one. There was no way this was going to work … until it did. … and boy did it! Within a year, birding consumed my life. And when I wasn’t birding, I was … well … still birding … be it at lunch, driving, golfing, traveling, or even sleeping. This seriously funny program tells the tales of learning, seeking, finding, identifying, and enjoying birds. …and of how birds made me a better Naturalist…and a better person.
]]><![CDATA[February Program: “Cosmic Wonders: Exploring the Hidden Beauty of Our Night Skies”]]>Thu, 06 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/february-program-cosmic-wonders-exploring-the-hidden-beauty-of-our-night-skies4220755
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