Backyard Biodiversity Bash, Saturday, August 26, 2017

​Western Cuyahoga Audubon hosts two Bird Walks in the West Creek Reservation and staffs a welcome table with educational handout materials for visitors.

Backyard Biodiversity Bash 2017 Event Details

Click to download this Flyer

Event: Backyard Biodiversity Bash
Date: Saturday, August 26, 2017
Time: 12:00pm Noon to 4:00pm
Location: Watershed Stewardship Center at West Creek Reservation, 2277 West Ridgewood Dr, Parma, OH 44134 Park Map. West Creek Reservation is located on Ridgewood Dr. in Parma, Ohio between State and Ridge Road Google Map.
 
Description: Your backyard can be a lively place with a few wild additions to your yard and garden! Learn how to improve your backyard habitat for wildlife while enjoying family-friendly learning stations, wagon rides, musical entertainment & food trucks. Shop for native plants at local nurseries and expand your gardening knowledge with members of LEAP for Biodiversity (Lake Erie Allegheny Partnership) and more.

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Western Cuyahoga Audubon Bird Walk Schedule & Registration

Species Focus: Typical midwest woodland and field species such as seasonal flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) and August specialties of butterflies and dragonflies.
​​Bird Walk Leader: Tim Colborn

Date & Time: Sat Aug 26, 2017. Rain or shine.

• ​​Bird Walk #1 at 1pm. Meet at the Monarch Bluff Picnic Area/Pavilion at 12:45am. View Park Map.
• Bird Walk #2 at 2pm. Meet at the Monarch Bluff Picnic Area/Pavilion at 1:45pm. View Park Map.

​​​Registration: Walks are limited to 12 people. Register Here.
​Location: Watershed Stewardship Center at West Creek Reservation, 2277 West Ridgewood Dr, Parma, OH 44134.
Ages: 14 and under, must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.
Tickets: Walks are provided at no charge to the public. Donations to support Western Cuyahoga Audubon conservation education programs are gratefully accepted at the time of the walk, or donate online Here.

​Equipment: binoculars; participants will receive a copy of the Western Cuyahoga Audubon Bird List day of the walk; bottled water for drinking.
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​Attire: dress for the weather by wearing light colored, sturdy clothing, and a hat appropriate for hiking wooded and open fields. Hikers can minimize areas of exposed skin to mosquitoes, ticks, and other arthropods by wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants, boots, and hats. Tucking in shirts, tucking pants into socks, and wearing closed shoes instead of sandals is recommended. Repellents or insecticides, such as permethrin, can be applied to clothing and gear for added protection. Read More

Watch: Backyard Biodiversity Bash Bird Walks 2017 hosted by Tim Colborn, Western Cuyahoga Audubon

Click this image to Register for a Bird Walk

Above: West Creek Reservation is located on Ridgewood Dr. in Parma, Ohio between State and Ridge Road. 

Bird Walk Leader Tim Colborn

About Bird Walk Leader Tim Colborn: Tim’s love of the outdoors began at an early age. He spent his summers as a boy in the Eastern Townships of Quebec hiking, swimming and fishing with his brothers but it wasn’t until a quiet encounter with a Great Blue Heron on his honeymoon that his interest in birds and birding was sparked. In the following 25 years, he has birded in more than 35 states around the country as well as in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Ireland. Much of Tim’s birding has centered in New England and the Midwest where he has led field trips, participated in Breeding Bird Surveys and Christmas Counts and given presentations to bird clubs and school children. Tim is proud to be a longtime Western Cuyahoga Audubon member. He is also the current Northeast Regional Director for the Ohio Ornithological Society and a past Vice President of the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club in upstate New York.

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Volunteer Opportunity

Volunteering at Backyard Biodiversity Bash
​Date & Time: 11 AM (for arrival and set up) to 4:30 PM (for tear down)
Details: Western Cuyahoga Audubon will be exhibiting a display table with educational handout materials and hosting Bird Walks for visitors. This is a wonderful event to attend and a great opportunity to volunteer.
Contact: If you'd like to volunteer please contact us at [email protected] We'd love to hear from you!

Above: Watch the Backyard Biodiversity Bash 2016 video with volunteers Madison Thomas and Megan Taylor.

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About West Creek Reservation, a natural treasure and key viewing site in Northeast Ohio
 
From Ohio and Erie Canalway online:

"The nine-mile West Creek meanders through a valley that harbors rocky gorges, forest-draped hillsides, and floodplains that each Spring burst forth a variety of wildflowers, and flows through the cities of Parma, Seven Hills, Brooklyn Heights, and Independence where it eventually connects to the Cuyahoga River. The 278-acre West Creek Reservation is geologically unique and biologically diverse, as the West Creek tributary not only provides natural beauty, but also a home to a variety of wildlife including White-tailed Deer, several pairs of Eastern Screech-Owls and five species of oak: white, red, pin, scarlet and swamp white oak. The reservation is the site of a reclaimed landfill and winding ridges of rich maple, oak, and beech woodlands.
 
West Creek is a magnet for migrants during Spring and Fall. During April and May, the woodlands can hold a huge number and diversity of species. Upwards of 75 species of birds, and 18 species of warblers have been recorded in single days in May, including rare Golden-winged, Worm-eating, Cerulean, Prairie, and Yellow-throated Warblers.
 
During Fall, West Creek is one of the most reliable locations in northern Ohio to see the rare Olive-sided Flycatcher, which perches atop dead snags surrounding the wetlands in the northern section of the park. The large tract of grasslands is well-known amongst birders for harboring a great diversity of sparrows in Fall, including rare Nelson’s, Clay-colored, and Le Conte’s Sparrows, and more regularly, Savannah, Field, and Vesper Sparrows.
 
During Summer, Orchard Orioles, Belted Kingfishers, Cedar Waxwings, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows nest along the creek, and the woodlands are home to Pileated and Hairy Woodpeckers, Red-eyed Vireos, Scarlet Tanagers, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. West Creek Reservation official bird list stands at 169 species.
 
Wildlife - White-tailed Deer, Coyote, Raccoon, Striped Skunk, and Fox Squirrels are common throughout the park. Since the reservation is relatively close to Lake Erie, West Creek’s grasslands and wetlands can play host to a fantastic Fall migration of Monarch butterflies. During the Summer, Black and Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, fritillaries and sulphurs are common. Northern Water Snakes flourish in the wetlands alongside Eastern Painted Turtles, Green Frogs, and American Toads." Read Online
 
Recommended Resource Link:

• Lake Erie Birding Trail, West Creek Reservation Read More​

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Event Partners

This event is supported by a partnership between Cleveland Metroparks, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, and West Creek Conservancy.

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Make A Donation to Western Cuyahoga Audubon. Your gifts guarantee chapter activities, programs and research continues to reach members and connect birding conservationists around the world. Use our safe and secure PayPal payment button below to make a donation of any amount you choose. All donations are gratefully received.

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