During August along the Towpath Trail, we are blessed with our summertime resident birds such as Indigo Buntings, Red-winged Blackbirds, American Goldfinch, Gray Catbirds, Northern Mockingbirds, Song Sparrows and more. Those of you with keen ears will start noticing the distinctive "movement" calls of our many Yellow Warblers, mostly young birds that are already thinking about migration. 

On the morning of Thursday, July 15th, specially trained staff from the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team, under the direction of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, came to Maumee Bay State Park to band the four 14-day old chicks. Assisted by Black Swamp Bird Observatory staff the banding process was completed efficiently in less than twenty minutes.

The male Prairie Warbler is bright and attractive with its olive and yellow colors. It has reddish streaks on its olive back. A black eye stripe and bold black arc under the eye highlights its yellow eyebrow and cheek. The throat is bright yellow and black stripes accent its sides. This species often pumps its long tail which has white outer feathers.

Photo: (left) Naoki Hiranaka and (right) Ryouji Shimada, from the Wild Bird Society of Japan TOKYO.

Meeting people, sharing memories and exchanging ideas about birds, birding and conservation activities are not only interesting but also important to take over all the beautiful things we have on the earth for future generations, I believe. 

Above: Chimney Swift Tower, Walker Road Park, 31565-31595 Walker Rd, Bay Village, OH 44140. Photo by Amanda Sebrosky.

A Chimney Swift tower was placed in Walker Road Park in February of 2021. My thanks go out to the craftsmen in the City of Bay Village service department for building the tower as well as to Bay Village City Council, Jonathan Liskovec, Director of  the Public Services and Properties department and Dan Enovitch, Director of Parks and Recreation, who supported this project from the start. 

Photo: Robin (Turdus migratorius) by David Lindo.

Birds are important indicators of changes happening in the environment. Birds seem to be getting the “one, two punch” with everything from habitat loss, pesticide use, window and building collisions, predatory cats and now there are reports of an increase in dead or visibly diseased birds along the eastern seaboard and new reports are coming from Ohio and Indiana. 

Since the 1980’s the Piping Plover population in the Great Lakes has increased to a high of 76 breeding pairs in 2017, with 64 nests found in 2020. It has been estimated that 500 plus pairs existed before the decline. The majority of nests among the Great Lakes now are in Michigan.

Photo: A Brown-belted Bumble Bee (Bombus griseocollis) was doing its part. By Tom Fishburn.

Native plants are always loved by all creatures and birds eat them as food. Hummingbirds consume the nectar of Turtleheads. The fruits of Seedboxes feed birds such as White-thoated Sparrows. They also offer the benefit as a place for birds to take a rest and live.

“The kids really enjoyed their time with Nancy and Margaret. They kept asking if the ‘bird’ ladies were coming back during our time today,” said Yolanda Hamilton, designer of the Black Birders Week YDH IDEA Learning Pod. “My son was eager to share what he learned yesterday. This was huge for him to be so engaged." 

"With the mystery of creation and evolution of species, how can any one of us find our place in it? Much may depend more on our own imaginations and our hearts, than our intellect."

Photo: Courtesy of Kaori Sunagawa, Assistant Professor, Okinawa International University.

We made 14 masks, mainly inspired by migratory birds. We picked Black-faced Spoonbill and others nesting or wintering on Awase Tidal Flat in Okinawa. 

Photo: Protesters gather at memorial for George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN USA. Photo by John Minchillo, Associated Press.

Now is the time to take steps that may not be easy - increase the birding experience with a more diverse and inclusive audience in a more equitable and just manner.

All during those years, advocates, scientists, legislators, and everyday people who have improved our air, water, and land, but we can no longer have the luxury of letting George do it. Action is needed.

I went to the Lewis Road Riding Ring field Saturday late afternoon, March 13th. I love the light there that time of day to photograph the bluebirds. A year ago in April I had gone and taken some photographs of the birds there as well, so I had an idea of what to expect. But I took a bunch this year and put together an album of several photos.

Photo: Rose-breasted Grosbeak by Tom Fishburn.

WCAS has set up a special donation button to raise funds to build more bird banding stations in Nicaragua through the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP). 100% percent of every donation goes directly to the stations to expedite critical data collection.

This program reviews the behavior of many bird species while feeding, discusses what they are feeding upon, adaptations for feeding, and how birders can use these behaviors to help with bird identification. ​

When Lake Erie freezes, ducks, geese, and gulls look for open water wherever they can find it. Flowing water freezes slower so the areas along the Cuyahoga River like Scranton Flats provide places for viewing. 

For many of us fascinated with birds, we get great joy to see birds returning that we have not seen since last year. As residents in this outstanding migratory area, springtime is a highlight of our year.

Since the 70’s, the population of Chimney Swifts has dropped by 72%. For Swifts, the habitat destruction was not just loss of forests, but changes to building practices of humans. Learn how the City of Bethlehem, PA is responding to save the species.

Once a decade or so (due to multiple seed crops crashing at once, weather, and some mysteries still unknown) all of the winter finches stream south in large numbers together causing what birders excitedly call a “super-flight”. 

Photo: Wild Turkey by Allan Claybon.

This month's bird has quite a story beginning with the myth that it lost to the Bald Eagle as the USA national bird. 

The Chimney Swift tower that will be placed in Walker Park is nearly finished! Dan Enovitch, Director of Parks and Recreation for Bay Village and Jonathan Liskovec, Director of Public Services and Properties for Bay Village, have been extremely helpful in organizing approvals and helping decide the best places for the first of what we hope will be several towers in Bay Village. 

Photo: Coffee Forest Photo credit Ministerio de Defensa del Perú.

​It's easy to feel helpless but here is something that you can do to help -- and it's as easy as pouring yourself a cup-a-joe and kicking back to watch the birds.

Just like any house, Chimney Swift towers need maintenance. At times, a tower is built then, with time, falls into disrepair - project ends, interested parties move on. Whatever the reason, the birds suffer. The cap rots and falls in; wasps evict the rightful owners -- the Chimney Swifts. Northeast Ohio Chimney Swift Conservation Society aims to help repair abandoned or forgotten towers.