<![CDATA[Western Cuyahoga Audubon - Member Meetings - Announcements and Recordings]]>Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:09:50 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[May and June 2026 Speaker Series]]>Sun, 19 Jul 2026 02:18:51 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/may-and-june-2026-speaker-seriesLearn about West Creek Conservancy in May, and attend a picnic, plant exchange, and bird walk in June! No member meetings in July or August.
May Program: “Birding, Native Plants, and Community Connections at West Creek Conservancy”
Presenters: Brett Rodstrom, conservation and Daniella Dejak, Stewardship and Outreach Coordinator
Date & Time: Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom only
Description: Discover the hidden gems of Northeast Ohio's birding landscape! Join Brett Rodstrom from West Creek Conservancy as he showcases protected lands across Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties—prime habitats that offer incredible birding opportunities for Western Cuyahoga Audubon field trips. These scenic properties provide a chance to experience nature at its best while supporting vital conservation efforts.

June Program: “Members Picnic, Plant Exchange and Bird Walk”
Presenter: Our members and guests
Date & Time: Tuesday. June 2, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.
Location: Lagoon Picnic Area Shelter
Description: As we have been doing for many 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!
No programs or meetings in July or Augu
]]><![CDATA[WCAS Speaker Series May 2026: Birding, Native Plants, and Community at West Creek Conservancy]]>Mon, 11 May 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/wcas-speaker-series-may-2026-birding-native-plants-and-community-at-west-creek-conservancy
]]><![CDATA[WCAS Speaker Series April 2026: The Ohio Bird Records Committee]]>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/wcas-speaker-series-april-2026-the-ohio-bird-records-committee
]]><![CDATA[WCAS Speaker Series February 2026: Birding: The Comic Book You Get to Live]]>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/wcas-speaker-series-february-2026-birding-the-comic-book-you-get-to-live
]]><![CDATA[February-April 2026 Speaker Series]]>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/february-april-2026-member-meetings-and-speaker-series
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Dr. Andy Jones
The February and March Programs will be held via Zoom only. The April program will take place in person and via Zoom at the Cuyahoga County Library - Fairview Park Branch on Lorain Rd. at 7:00 p.m. WCAS members, guests and friends are always welcome in person or via Zoom.
February Program: “Birding: The Comic Book You Get to Live”
Presenter: Killian Sullivan, ABA’s Young Birder of the Year and Ohio’s Birder-extraordinaire
Date & Time: February 3, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom only
Description: What if birding were a comic book full of origin stories, epic quests, elusive nemeses, and unexpected superpowers? Killian, ABA’s Young Birder of the Year and possibly the youngest to reach 700 species in the U.S., shares his journey as a graphic novel comes to life. His path has been shaped by mentors, friends, and a birding community who have taught, inspired, and challenged him. Killian’s story shows how birding is more than a hobby - it is a shared adventure where every birder writes their own heroic story.

March Program: “Southeastern Landscapes: Managing for Remarkable Diversity”
Presenter: Dr. Andy Jones, Executive Director of Spring Island Trust and Lowcountry Institute in South Carolina
Date & Time: March 3, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom only
Description: The southeastern region of North America is home to many impressive plants and animals, many of which are restricted to this particular region. Why would this warm and humid part of the country be home to so many species? Dr. Jones will review the factors that lead to this high biological diversity, and profile some of the particularly interesting species and ecosystems here. Part of South Carolina’s Spring Island Trust's work is to manage 1,100 acres on a sea island, and he will review the methods and outcomes of recent projects here.
Note: This presentation will not be recorded

April Program: “The Ohio Bird Records Committee”
Presenter: Jon Cefus, Secretary of the OBRC and birder
Date & Time: Tuesday, April 7, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: In-person and via Zoom
Description: Formed in 1991, the Ohio Bird Records Committee (OBRC) is a nine member independent peer-review panel whose primary function is to evaluate records of rare bird species reported in Ohio. This program will talk about how the OBRC functions, as well as a bit about its history and how that information has been compiled into the Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Ohio publications.
]]><![CDATA[WCAS Speaker Series January 2026: How Birds Created the World from The Complete Language of Birds]]>Mon, 12 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/wcas-speaker-series-january-2026-how-birds-created-the-world-from-the-complete-language-of-birds
]]><![CDATA[WCAS Speaker Series December 2025: Mother Nature’s Boundless Beauty Thru the Eyes of a Photographer]]>Mon, 08 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.wcaudubon.org/member-meetings---announcements-and-recordings/wcas-speaker-series-december-2025-mother-natures-boundless-beauty-thru-the-eyes-of-a-photographer
]]><![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
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