The Scarlet Tanager is widespread during the summer in most of the eastern U.S. and lower parts of Canada. Spending winters in northern South America it migrates through southern states to breed in deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests. 

While many North American bird species are in decline, few groups are in as steep a drop as the grassland species. Further reading on the topic can help provide focus on the scary details and the steps being taken to help.​

When I learned about Honey Run Highlands, I kept this place in mind as it is much closer to home for me. Some bird species are easier to come by in the southern parts of Ohio. Honey Run Highlands is not way south but south enough. In the earlier part of May I took a day off work and made the trip specifically to see a Prairie Warbler. I did get to see that and more.

On World Migratory Bird Day 2020, I look out my window at falling snow. Ohio residents are limiting travel due to pandemic restrictions and getting outdoors as much as possible while safely practicing social distancing. WCAS is doing its part to keep the celebration alive through their media. I've compiled seasonal bird photos from my years as an Ohio resident. I hope you enjoy them and get to see these celebrities outdoors soon for yourself!

Photo: American Robin (Turdus migratorius) by Dave Lewis.

American Robins in the winter seem so much more deeply hued - a charcoal colored head which makes the white markings on the throat and around the eye more noticeable, the gray of the back and wings, and the rusty red breast and belly. The feathers are crisp and fresh. As the wings fold, I admire how the feathers align and overlap. Perfect. 

​Nature has to confront things, they have enemies who work together to solve a specific problem. What biomimicry does is it teaches collaboration, it teaches systems thinking. And that is different than what we think of as humans most of the time. And once we get our brains together on a cumulative basis, it’s amazing what we can go ahead and solve.

Doug Hardy founded and runs the Norwich Vermont Birds & Beans Coffee Club. Since November 2012 the Club has purchased nearly 6,000 pounds of our Smithsonian certified shade grown, Organic and Fair Trade ‘Bird Friendly®’ supporting migratory birds and family coffee farms.

Photo: Environmental Layers by Alice Merkel at Cleveland Metroparks, Rocky River Reservation, Valley Pkwy, North Olmsted, OH 44070.

Now more than ever, it is imperative Ohio conservation interests connect, communicate, and collaborate as a united front for nature and the environment.

In 2018 Year of the Bird, the Bald Eagle, Kirtland's Warbler, Least Tern, Piping Plover, Rufa Red Knot and the Whooping Crane have been Federally-listed as threatened, endangered, proposed, or candidate species' by the USFWS in 8 midwest states. Here are some simple ways to help protect birds in our area, perhaps your yard, neighborhood, and beyond.

At my home, the window with the view of the bird feeder is my favorite window. If you have one of these views in your home, I would imagine you delight in the surprises and tranquility it can bring. As the seasons change, the tiny feathered visitors change also. 

When March finds us, we can get truly excited both in the freedom that warmer temperatures bring and the beginning movements of birds back into and through the region.

Fundraising for important communication projects, like Lights Out Cleveland, has gotten specific companies downtown to agree to turn out their lights during migration so that birds will not be hurt so much.

Above: Sunrise at San Juan del Rio Coco, Nicaragua. The highlands of northern Nicaragua, a productive shade coffee-growing region and refuge for migratory birds in winter. Photo by Scott Weidensaul.

Americans drink over a third of the world’s coffee. If we all buy and drink Bird Friendly certified coffee, songbirds, farmers and future generations of bird lovers will be sure that the birds return every year.

​Beautiful Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) by Kathy Murphy, Member, Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society, on Sunday Sept 17, 2017. Just east of the Lorain boat docks, on the peninsula that goes into Lake Erie.

We had to start from the beginning to develop these methods but they are now becoming basic tools for seabird conservation. I know of at least fifty species of seabirds that have benefitted by the same methods that were pioneered in Maine. - Dr. Stephen Kress, Vice-President for Bird Conservation, National Audubon Society and Director, Seabird Restoration Program & Hog Island Camp. 

The Lights Out Ohio program aims to reduce migrating bird mortality rates due to nighttime building collisions and increase data collection success with volunteer training and public education.

Black-throated blue warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) by Dave Lewis

A stunning photographic collection by Dave Lewis. Migrating warblers coming through northern Ohio from May 2016 through May 2017. Most are from Magee Marsh Wildlife Area with a few from Cleveland Lakefront State Park. Visit the exhibit at Carlisle Reservation, Lorain Metro Parks through June 30, 2017.

Winter Bird Walk by Kathy Murphy. Wendy Park, 2800 Whiskey Island Drive, Cleveland, OH 44102

Take a walk with me now through some frozen beautiful local scenery.

Wind turbines are not as eco-friendly as you may think.

Larry Rosche, Naturalist and Author, shares a series of stories about discovering nature as a youth, a lifetime of Birding, and how to choose a path of conservation.

Right now is the shorebirds big migration time. They are coming through our area heading south.

A conversation with Western Cuyahoga Audubon Second Saturday Bird Walk Leaders, Bill Deininger, Ken Gober and Dave Graskemper

We need to update and strengthen The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to address 21st century threats, such as oil pits, power lines, communications towers, and other deadly hazards, to save the lives of millions of birds. ~ National Audubon Society

Tom Romito contributes a personal remembrance of the five-year Rocky River Important Bird Area survey from 2006-2010.

Yellow-rumped Warbler © Dave Lewis

Photography Exhibit by Dave Lewis celebrates International Migratory Bird Day, May 13-15th, 2016 at the Perry F. Johnson Wetland Center, Sandy Ridge Reservation, North Ridgeville, Ohio.