Audubon gets acquainted with the Piping Plover
Blackbrook Audubon welcomes Mary Birdsong as she presents “Piping Plovers in PA and Beyond” 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 21 at Penitentiary Glen in Kirtland. In 2017, this small shorebird nested at Presque Isle State Park for the first time since the 1950s. This summer, a pair nested in Ohio for the first time in about 80 years. The Great Lakes population of the Piping Plover is federally and state endangered.
Mary is the lead shorebird monitor for the Erie Bird Observatory and will give a summary of the nesting history of this plover in the Great Lakes and in Erie, Pennsylvania. Hear about the dramatic salvage of eggs in 2017 that went on to be transported to Michigan for captive rearing and release on Lake Superior; learn about familial drama in 2019 as Dad and son plover compete for the wing of the same female. Mary will also highlight other shorebirds that visit Gull Point in Presque Isle.
Participants can attend the program in person or register on the event page of blackbrookaudubon.org to receive a link to view the program live online. While the program starts at 7:00 p.m., Trevor Wearstler, the host and president of Blackbrook, will open access to the meeting about 6:30 p.m. so people can familiarize themselves with the software features or chat with other attendees.
Refreshments will not be served at the in-person program. Penitentiary Glen is at 8668 Kirtland Chardon Road, Kirtland.
Blackbrook Audubon covers Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake Counties as the local chapter of National Audubon Society. For more information, email blackbrookaud@aol.com. Follow Blackbrook Audubon Society on Facebook for updates.
Audubon monitors Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve
Blackbrook Audubon invites nature enthusiasts to their monthly Important Bird Area walk at 8:00 a.m. Sunday, September 26. Meet at the entrance gate to the utility pipeline access road, an otherwise restricted area, by the intersection of Woodridge Lane and Forest Road in Mentor Headlands. This will be a closed program with group birding together, not the open-house style that’s offered by the Marsh Nature Center staff on the second Saturday morning of each month. After birding the pipeline, participants will explore the other path that leads to the interior of the Marsh, the Wake Robin Trail boardwalk. Parking is available along the south side of Woodridge Lane or in the lot at 8936 Woodridge at the trailhead of Wake Robin. This trail begins with a steep hill with rope railing.
This site falls within the Grand River – Lower Watershed Important Bird Area. Blackbrook welcomes birders of all skill levels to this walk on the fourth Sunday of each month.
Blackbrook Audubon covers Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake Counties as the local chapter of National Audubon Society. For more information, email blackbrookaud@aol.com or rdonaldson@cmnh.org. Follow Blackbrook Audubon Society on Facebook for updates.
