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.

Canton Audubon presented on the Chimney Swift tower that was constructed and placed at Sippo Lake, one of the Stark Parks. Not only was the tower put in place, but interpretive signage was added for educating the public. 

Watch September program videos and be sure to join us for WCAS Book of the Month presentations and discussions. You'll meet intriguing authors and connect with a community of learners reflecting on nature and human interaction.

Photo: Male and female Wood Ducks in the Rocky River November 10, 2019 by Tom Fishburn.

Aptly named, Wood Ducks or Woodies, are ducks that like swampy forests as well as marshes. They easily perch in trees and can even cling to the side of a tree, woodpecker-like, for a short time due to long nails on their toes. ​ 

Photo: Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Peninsula, Ohio 44264 by David Lewis.

Beauty, grace, elegance … all these terms can be used to describe the Great Blue Heron. These large birds of wetland, pond, river, or marsh habitats will cause anyone to stop and look.  

Photo: Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) (male), Beaver Marsh, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, April 2016 by Tom Fishburn.

Photo: Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) (female), Elenor, Miami Township, Ohio, May 2020 by Allan Claybon.

Photo: Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) (female), Elenor, Miami Township, Ohio, May 2020 by Allan Claybon.

Photo: Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) (male), Wecht Rd, Dalton OH, June 2020 by Tom Fishburn.

While Red-winged Blackbirds are one of the most abundant birds in Ohio, throughout the U.S. the bird’s population has dropped by 30% in the last 50 years according to Breeding Bird Surveys. Habitat loss or major changes in the habitats the birds need may be one of the main reasons. 

Photo: Kaoru Tsubone birding in Japan with WCAS's youngest birder, Tsugumi Tsubone, Kaoru's daughter.

In February of 2017, I was fascinated with birds in Cleveland soon after coming to the U.S. and decided to jump into one of Spring Bird Walks. 

Photo: Urban Birding Cleveland, Scranton Flats, November 2019 by Tom Fishburn.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead

Two international ambassadors have been recognized for their stellar leadership qualities by Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society Board members as lifelong representatives of the chapter and to share the Audubon mission: Kaoru Tsubone, Ambassador to Japan, and David Lindo, Global Ambassador. 

Our spring was cold and long, we had a late hard frost on 16 May, but after that it slowly warmed up. Migrants began to dribble in and soon the warblers, tanagers, orioles, and beautiful Indigo Buntings were flitting through the meadow, the trees, and visiting our feeders.  

Visiting Royal Oaks, Lorain County Metro Parks garage construction site of the new Chimney Swift Tower. In collaboration with Becah Troutman, Natural Resource Land Steward and Amanda Sebrosky, Founder, NEO Chimney Swift Conservation Society. Photos by Betsey O'Hagan.

Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society partnered with Northeast Ohio Chimney Swift Conservation Society to help fund a Chimney Swift tower being built by Justin Duricky for his Eagle Scout project.

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. 

When I retired from the Federal Government and prepared to return to Ohio from the DC area in 2013, I honed in on finding a location with green space where I could garden and watch the birds. I found the ideal spot, a condo near the Cuyahoga Valley National Park that had a steep bank in the back yard that was in dire need of beautification. ​

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.

I love trillium in spring as many wildflower enthusiasts do. Over the last few years I've learned of the several species found in Ohio, some more common than others. In Ohio Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum) is rare. I had never seen it although I understand it is quite common just east of Ohio. So when I got a tip that a small population of Painted Trillium exists in Ashtabula County on property managed by The Nature Conservancy I got excited. ​