Northeast Ohio's location along the southern shore of Lake Erie makes it a prime destination for migrating birds of all kinds. Every spring, hundreds of thousands of birds representing more than 100 species make their way northward from their winter homes farther south and stop here to rest and refuel before making the flight across the lake to reach their nesting grounds in the boreal forests and tundra of Canada. Keep an eye out for blackburnian warblers, scarlet tanagers, indigo buntings and rose-breasted grosbeaks, and this is just to name a few species.
Cleveland Metroparks, along with its partners, the Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and other local park districts, collaborate each year to present the Series of Spring Bird Walks every Sunday from April 12 through May 17. These free, naturalist or volunteer led walks, meet at 7:30 a.m. at each of the various locations around Northeast Ohio in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Medina and Portage counties.
Cleveland Metroparks locations include Lake Isaac in Big Creek Reservation, Hemlock Creek Picnic Area in Bedford Reservation, the Station Road Bridge Trailhead in Brecksville Reservation, Hinckley Lake in Hinckley Reservation, Lake Erie Nature & Science Center in Huntington Reservation, Sunset Pond in North Chagrin Reservation, CanalWay Visitor Center in Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation, Rocky River Nature Center in Rocky River Reservation and Jackson Road parking lot in South Chagrin Reservation.
Other Spring Bird Walk locations include Aurora, Gates Mills, Geauga Park District, Hiram, Holden Arboretum, Lake Erie Bluffs, Mentor Marsh and Shaker Lakes.
�This is one of the longest-running citizen science projects in the country,� said Cleveland Metroparks Director of Outdoor Experiences Wendy Weirich. �The Spring Bird Walks not only collect data about bird migration, but also give participants a unique way to experience spring -- if they go each week, they often start in a coat and end in shorts.�
For more information, visit clevelandmetroparks.com or the Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society website at wcasohio.org/spring_bird_walks.htm.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
SUE ALLEN - 216-635-3338,
?sja@clevelandmetroparks.com
JOE YACHANIN - 216-635-3310,
?jgy@clevelandmetroparks.com
