According to eBird, almost 40 species of waterfowl have been seen at Wellington Upground Reservoir over the years. Greater White-fronted Goose and Cackling Goose are among the species. ​Wellington Reservoir offers handicapped parking just feet from the water.  Birding can be done a few steps from your car, or even sitting in the car.

Seven students received Special Science Fair Awards from Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society at the Northeastern Ohio Science and Engineering Fair (NEOSEF), March 12, 2019. Hundreds of top science students competed, from schools across northeast Ohio. WCAS judges were Karen Czerniawski, Debra Jesionowski, Michelle Manzo and Penny O'Connor.

The second Saturday bird walk started with sunny skies and twenty five observers. The walk lasted over two and a half hours. Highlights  were a Barred Owl and a female Purple Finch. Red-winged Blackbirds were back at their expected locations. We had ten Red-tailed Hawks and 5 Coopers Hawks. Woodpeckers were also spotted in good numbers with thirteen Red-bellied woodpeckers and twelve Downy Woodpeckers. At least a dozen Cardinals were spotted with many singing on their territorial perches.  - Report by Bill Deininger.

Photo: Gustino Lanese

The monthly Second Saturday walks are a great opportunity for birders of all skill levels to enjoy the woods and wetlands around the Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Nature Center. New to birding? You will be amazed how much you can learn in this friendly group.

Join us as we watch migratory birds return or travel through our area towards their summer breeding grounds during the 86th Annual Series of Spring Bird Walks. Celebrate one of the oldest citizen science partnerships with a total of 6,160 Spring Bird Walk checklists entered into eBird, dating back to 1955! 

WCAS held a fifth conservation project laboratory on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at Bethany Presbyterian Church in Cleveland.  Thirteen people attended this event, including Kurt Miske, Karen Czerniawski, Lisa Del Rio, Betsey O’Hagen, Bruce Missig, Tom Romito, Gloria Ferris, Joe Reardon, Ali Grant, Alex Hopkins, Michelle Manzo, Pat McGuigan, and Kaoru Tsubone. Kurt opened the meeting and Tom facilitated the event.

Ten birders came out to the walk rescheduled from the previous week due to high winds. Red-winged Blackbirds were singing, setting up territories along the canal and the Cuyahoga River. While no Bald Eagles were sighted, a cooperative Northern Mockingbird was much enjoyed.  - Penny O’Connor, Bird Walk Coordinator

The American Woodcock is not your typical shorebird. Rather than running on a sand beach or probing a mudflat, the woodcock haunts early successional forests and thickets especially. Many of us are familiar with or have watched the spring “sky dance” of the woodcock, but what about the rest of its life through the year? Biologist, Heather Shaw, will share with us a year in the life of the American Woodcock.  ​

Photo: Bald Eagle at LaDue Reservoir by Anna Julnes, Kirtland Bird Club.

Bald Eagles have been sighted recently in this area of the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath. These and other birds are attracted to the outflow of relatively warm water from the NEORSD Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it empties into the Cuyahoga River.

Join us for the next Project Lab to connect with like-minded social entrepreneurs, share ideas, and be part of a project team to take ideas to action for birds and habitat conservation!