The Shoreline Stopover

Photo by Jeff Traipale

A Place to Relax & Recharge 

by Ann Bugeda, Chief of Interpretive Services

Fall skies, shorter days, cooling temperatures and winds from the north trigger the ongoing cycle of migration. It’s true—bird populations are in movement year round—changing seasons alert us to the passage of many species on their southbound journey. Eagles, ducks, hawks, swans, falcons, shorebirds, songbirds— all moving from summer places to wintering grounds.

One of the best places to witness fall migration is along our lakeshore. If I had to pick my favorite for migration watching on a fall day, I would pick Lake Erie Bluffs. Improvements to this park include a new trail and shelter that provide great opportunities to relax, walk, enjoy the view and share space with the tiny travelers of fall migration. The variety of habitat and natural beach are relaxing to us and important for the local wildlife. Other scenic shoreline Lake Metroparks sites east to west are Arcola Creek Park in Madison Township, Lake Shore Reservation in North Perry Village, Painesville Township Park in Painesville Township, Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park in Fairport Harbor and Lakefront Lodge in Willowick.

Photos by John Pogacnik, Biologist

During the late summer and fall, many birds that nested and raised their young in Ohio and farther north (like New England and Canada) begin to feel the urge to move. These birds will soon journey to warmer climates, enjoying abundant food supplies and milder temperatures.

Many kinds of songbirds, waterfowl, shorebirds, hawks and falcons navigate along Lake Erie’s coast—some even fly non-stop from Canada, out and over Lake Erie’s open water. Some rely on the updrafts of warm air currents created by elevation changes along our coastlines and ridges where rising warm air provides a boost for soaring. Some travel only at night, when the weather is calm and there is less danger of predation.

Photos by John Pogacnik, Biologist

When we travel from home for work or vacation, it’s likely we will need to stop for food or fuel. The same thing is true with animals in migration. Green spaces like Lake Erie Bluffs, provide valuable “stopover” habitat. Food (including insects, fall fruits or nectar sources) and shelter (trees, shrubs and grassy spaces) are essential. It’s not exactly a cheeseburger and fries, but without a place to rest and refuel, many will have a difficult time on their journey.

If you visit the lakeshore in September, smaller birds like hummingbirds and warblers will be passing through. By October, sparrows are on the move, and turkey vultures can be seen drifting southbound. By mid October, ducks will start to gather on inland lakes and ponds like Granger Pond at Veterans Park in Mentor.

November brings chilly north winds, when tundra swans pass; listen for their wild and beautiful calls with the first real cold front. Loons and other diving birds can be spotted on the open waters of Lake Erie. From November  through April, thousands of red-breasted mergansers gather in Lake Erie. Up to 150,000 or more birds may be present during the winter months, a large percent of their entire population. They fly back and forth, diving and fishing and following the open water as the lake begins to freeze. The near total ice coverage of the lake these past two winters made for difficult conditions for them (as well as us!). Remembering last winter reminds us that now is the time to enjoy a fall walk, some lake watching and nature in all its glory.

Photo by Greennite

You think this is for the birds? You're right!

115th annual Christmas Bird Count

Celebrated across North America (and Lake Metroparks)  

Gully Brook Park (December 20 at 8:30 am)
Penitentiary Glen Reservation (December 27 at 8 am)


Do you love birds? Join Lake Metroparks and participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count, the longest running Citizen Science project in the world.

The Christmas Bird Count, presented by the National Audubon Society, is an early-winter bird census, where thousands of volunteers across the US, Canada and many countries in the Western Hemisphere count all the bird species and number of birds within a designated 15 mile radius in one 24 hour period.

Lake Metroparks is looking for as many eyes and ears to help us get as accurate a count as possible. All the data is turned in to National Audubon for a full tally from across Lake County, Northeast Ohio, Ohio and all of North America. Teams of birders venture out on foot, while “feeder” watchers keep track in back yards. A number our parks are included in the count territories.

Click here for a map of the circles that take in Lake County.
(Enter Lake County, Ohio into the search bar on the map)

Come join the fun on Saturday December 20 at 8:30 am at Gully Brook Park on River Road in Willoughby, where members of the Burroughs Nature Club will lead a hike and then move on to Pete’s Pond Preserve in Wickliffe for more birding, finishing up around lunchtime. Registration not required. Free

Go on a hike with members from the Blackbrook Audubon Society at Penitentiary Glen Reservation on Saturday December 27 at 8 am until 10 am to discover what the nature center trails and feeders have to offer. You do not have to be an expert “birder” to enjoy this outing, just a lover of birds. Register online for this hike. FREE

For more information the Christmas Bird Count, call 440 256-1404 and ask for Pat or Ann or visit http://birds.audubon.org/faq/cbc.

Learn more about birding in Lake County.

Can people benefit from feeding the birds?

 

Winter Bird Open House

Penitentiary Glen Reservation
Sunday, January 26, 2014 • 12 to 4 pm • FREE

 

Feeding and watching the birds in your yard are great ways to “connect with nature.” Spend a cozy winter afternoon at Penitentiary Glen Nature Center learning all about winter birds.

 

The Winter Bird Open House features free, fun activities for the whole family! Relax with a hot drink, watch the birds at our feeders in the award-winning Window on Wildlife and ask a Naturalist all your bird and bird feeding questions. Chat with us about which types of feed specific birds like, the different styles of birdfeeders, the ins and outs of binoculars, and identifying the Top Ten Birds in your backyard this winter.

Ongoing activities

•Short presentations on common winter birds
•Learn about Binoculars, Feeders, and Bird field guides
•Bird Scavenger Hunts and quizzes
•Help us count the birds at our feeders for Project FeederWatch
•Drawing for FREE bird-related items
•Local Audubon Society display

 

Click here for directions and a listing of additional activities to do while visiting Penitentiary Glen Reservation.



Deer exclosure at Veterans Park

If you have driven past Veterans Park on Hopkins Road recently, you probably have noticed a large fenced area in the woods adjacent to the parking lot. This 10 x 20-meter structure is a deer exclosure, one of seven that are monitored by Lake Metroparks throughout the county. This area was selected after so many of the mature trees were taken down by the devastating winds of Hurricane Sandy.

If you are looking for a white-tailed deer inside the exclosure, you won’t see one. The space is designed to keep deer out to monitor the plants inside versus the plants on the outside. this will provide an index of what the impact of browse is by the white-tailed deer on that plant community.

The deer exclosure will have an important interpretive value to the public as, literally, they will see the structure from the parking lot and learn from it what impact it has on protecting the plant life within.

A small deer herd only makes a small impact, but too many deer consume the seeds of a forest’s future growth. Over time, these impacts create a visible browse line in the forest (see above).

Tom Adair, Parks Services Director, in an interview on the "Around Town" program on Mentor TV, said with the elimination of plant life, we will see a related loss or decrease in the diversity of insect life, bird life and mammal life as it relates to Veterans Park.

"Lake Metroparks has monitored the growth of white trillium in this area over the past 10 to 15 years and we have records that showed us that there were over 1,000 white trillium on a small plot, a 10' x 10' area," said Adair. "That site within the past two to three years has yielded no more than a dozen white trillium."

Plants inside the fenced area at Veterans Park are now protected from deer. Over time, this will show us how a healthy forest in Northeast Ohio can recover.

Click here to watch the video. The deer exclosure is the first segment of the program.