Photo: Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) with Kill by Will Mayall [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

One of the biggest success stories in conservation was the reintroduction of the Peregrine Falcon to the eastern U.S. In Ohio, cities, such as Columbus, Toledo, Cleveland and other “urban mountains” became the stronghold of the falcons. Chad and Chris Saladin have been falcon watchers and trackers for a long time and know the history of many of the pairs of birds in and around northeast Ohio. Find out how the falcons are faring on the bridges and buildings of the urban canyons. ​​

Above: 3 Susie Frazier's Mantra Blocks are available: "Listen", "Discover", and "Awaken".

Bid on this beautiful collection of creative masterpieces donated by the artists themselves to fundraise for chapter conservation programs for the birds. Plan to attend the Tue May 7th speaker program hosted at the Rocky River Nature Center and WCAS Peeps, please bid generously!  Proceeds support chapter conservation activities.

Photo: Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca) by Kathy Murphy.

This presentation uses photographs to help group warblers by appearance, preferred habitat, and behaviors, such as tail wagging, which helps with identification. In addition, songs and ways to remember songs will be provided. This should get us prepared for migration!  ​

Nature has always been a fundamental source of inspiration for work. From nature comes spirituality and an inner emotional vision. My favorite subjects are the things I love from the natural world: People, animals, birds, and spiritual visions and yearning. ~ Beth Nilges-Nehamkin

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.  ​

Follow a set of railroad tracks, walk near abandoned industrial sites, check out an old cemetery … birds love these areas and many would be surprised how areas such as these are being used by birds while on migration as a resting/feeding stop, or for nesting.

Photo: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by Steven Chase, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The vastness and beauty of the Arctic and the inhabitants of the Arctic, both wildlife and people, will be shared with us by Craig Caldwell, Audubon supporter and Editor of The Ohio Cardinal, a publication of the Ohio Ornithological Society. ​

WCAS hosted the program, “Conservation Stories of Western Cuyahoga Audubon” on November 6, 2018 that featured personal reports by WCAS members who participated in three conservation projects: Donald Gray Gardens (1985-1996), Dike 14/Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve (circa 2000-2012), and Rocky River Important Bird Area Surveys (2006-2012).  

Rocky River Reservation by Tom Fishburn.

Western Cuyahoga Audubon has played an active role in Cleveland habitat conservation for nearly fifty years. Join us for a multimedia retrospect of chapter conservation projects that created some of today's iconic northeast Ohio landscapes, often starting with the small actions of one or two people. ​

Photo: Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) by Scott Martin.

Evidence seems to indicate that these “secretive” sounds are an important part of the bird’s ability to survive and reproduce. ​

What did the forests in Cuyahoga County look like in 1800 and how did they compare to forests today? 

September 4, 2018: “Vegetation in Northeast Ohio: Two Hundred Years of Changes and Challenges” with Kathryn Flinn, Plant Ecologist and Assistant Professor of Biology, Baldwin-Wallace University.

October 2, 2018: “Careless Whispers? Deciphering the Hidden Vocal Repertoire of a Common Backyard Bird, the Dark-eyed Junco” with Dustin G. Reichard, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Zoology, Ohio Wesleyan University.

November 6, 2018: “Connecting People to Nature: Placemaking at Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society” with WCAS Members, Affiliates, and Friends.

December 4, 2018: "To the Edge of the Earth: Nome, Barrow, and Bering Sea Islands" with Craig Caldwell, Editor, The Ohio Cardinal.

January 8, 2019: “Chimney Swifts: Our Amazing & Imperiled Avian Insectivores” with Judy Semroc, Conservation Specialist, Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

February 5, 2019: “One Green Space for All: Areas Significant for Migratory and Breeding Birds" with Jen Brumfield, Naturalist and Scientific Illustrator, Cleveland Metroparks.

March 5, 2018: “The Life and Times of the American Woodcock” with Heather Shaw, Regional Wildlife Biologist, Ruffed Grouse Society ​and American Woodcock Society.

April 2, 2019: “Warbler Warm-up” with Matt Valencic and Kelly.

May 7, 2019: “Peregrine Falcons: Predators of Urban Canyons” with Chad and Chris Saladin. Photo by Clyde Witt.

Sponsor-A-Speaker is a new program to give members, guests, and friends the opportunity to sponsor one or more speakers in the 2018-2019 Western Cuyahoga Speaker Series.

Bird collisions are one of the top three human-related causes of bird deaths and injuries. What can be done to solve the problem, or, at least, reduce the number of deaths? 

Backyard dinosaurs? Birds are the descendants of dinosaurs evolving more than 150 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. Since then, birds have diversified and thrived through to present day. 

High School science teacher, Mike Sustin, highlights the biology and ecology of the black bear - once extirpated in Ohio – from life in the den to foraging behaviors to the management challenges facing Ohio’s population.

Sarah Orlando, Program Manager for the Ohio Clean Marinas and Clean Boaters programs, joins us to talk about voluntary, incentive-based programs to help maintain and improve Lake Erie water quality while preserving the economic activity and viability of the marine trades industry.

“Thinking of nature as a teacher rather than a warehouse is a powerful act.” This statement, by author Janine Benyus, has sparked people to learn more about biomimicry. Biomimicry, or innovation inspired by nature, has taken root here in Northeast Ohio. 

Killer whales are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups (pods) which are the most stable of any animal species. Their sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviours, which are often specific to a particular group and passed across generations, have been described as manifestations of animal culture. - Wikipedia

You are what you eat. Dr. Wiley’s research looks at the role seabirds play in food webs, how these food webs are shifting, and the challenges of competition and reproduction with changing food webs.

The coyote is a canid native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than its other close relatives, the eastern wolf and the red wolf. - Wikipedia

Kathy will share her personal thoughts on the abundance and variety in nature and of the beauty of our feathered friends.

Matthew Shumar, Program Coordinator, Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative

Dr. Randall Mitchell, from the University of Akron, will share with us bumble bee identification and how habitat management can help bumble bees in the program, "Bumblebees of Ohio and the Great Lakes".

Dr. Andy Jones, Department of Ornithology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, will present, “Recent Advances in Ornithology”, highlighting the taxonomic changes that birders will want to know about, as well as other discoveries that will simply make you a more observant and more informed birder.