Carlisle Nature Center

The Carlisle Nature Center on a rainy day.

We are so lucky in this area to have so many outstanding Nature Centers available to us. The Lorain County Metropark system is very well known for its Sandy Ridge Reservation with its wonderful wetland habitat with many species of ducks, warblers and nesting Bald Eagles.

Lesser known is the Carlisle Reservation in LaGrange, a little further west and south of Sandy Ridge. It has a mixture of grassland, woodland and the west branch of the Black River running through it. They have a nature center there also, which brings me to this post. I just happen to have an exhibit there right now, running through the month of May. The theme is "The Colorful Birds of the Americas." I have many of my favorite photos from birding around Ohio to birding in Panama and Ecuador.

Every month they have a local artist display their works. These are the North American birds.

On the opposite wall I have Central and South American birds.

Their nature center is very kid friendly with a play room to burn off some extra energy and special events geared towards the younger naturalists. While I was setting up they had a bus load of first graders enjoying a program about the wildlife of the area presented by Mary Ewers and the other naturalists of the center. I was secretly listening to the program myself!

The Carlisle Raptor Center has a Bald Eagle, Barred Owls and more. They are used for education as they are injured and can't be released into the wild.

Guess what kind of bird this is!

This is a recreation of the "Great Nest" of the early 1900's. It was the largest bald Eagle nest in Lorain County. Can you say "minivan?"

You know, you can't go to a park and not go birding! Even though the rain was coming down, I went out on the trails to get a little spring birding in. Ah, if only the April showers would make my hair grow as much as the weeds in our garden...anyway, back to reality. I saw close to thirty Cedar Waxwings working their way through the woods, way overhead of course. A few came down to check out the skinny wet guy and laugh. I also saw Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, but couldn't get any shots of them. So, here ya go, a few photos of my day in Carlisle.

You can't aim high when it's raining out, the lens tends to fill up with water quickly. It's hard to tell, butt, there are 7 Cedar Waxwings mooning me in this shot. Bad birds!

This one came down to give me the crazy eye. I named him Bob.

So, Bob calls his friend Ray to come down and check out this loon taking our picture in the rain. I could hear them laughing at me, really, I could, very high pitched you know.

What is it with the birds out there? This Blue-gray Gnatcatcher gave me the crazy eye, too! I think he was calling me a name, but I couldn't make it out. Very rude little bird.

A yellow-rumped Warbler that held still...for a second...I almost had a butt shot, then he turned his chin up at me. Must have been the rain.

And then this purple bird. I knew it was a warbler because it says so on the front! WRBLRZ! That's me!

For the month of June, I'll have an exhibit of the "Birds and Beauty of Britain" with scenic photos by Laurie-doodle and my birdy pics.

Flying Colors

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak in a vocal mood.

Throughout the month of May keep your eyes to the trees for the migration has begun!

I found this Bay-breasted Warbler at Magee Marsh last year. I'll be out there again this weekend to look for more warblers!

Black-throated Green Warblers have been spotted already!

This past weekend we took a little time out to see a few of our first warblers of the season. I've also been watching the changing of the guard at the feeders in our gardens. The Dark-eyed Juncos are all but vanished, being replaced by the incoming White-crowned Sparrows and the Eastern Towhee that has been a regular here every spring. We've also been lucky enough to have a Rose-breasted Grosbeak on the sunflower feeder out front.

This Eastern Towhee has been working the hidden corners of the gardens along with a Gray Catbird.

The Tree Swallows have been zooming all around our trees collecting insects. They must be excellent entomologists...

The warm weather and the rain has brought things to life in the yard. What was once just the stubs of life, have grown and blossomed into our early wildflowers and shrubs. The hastas are growing quickly, the Bleeding Hearts have bloomed and things are looking better and brighter around here.

But, best of all, the air is full of song! Every morning, we're awakened by the glorious sounds emanating from the trees and bushes surrounding our little home. What a way to start the day...So until morning arrives again, enjoy a few of my favorites!

Soon, the Baltimore Orioles will arrive. We have our feeders in place and ready.

An Indigo Bunting shopping for seed.

A Palm Warbler from below. We saw quite a few this past weekend, most of them feeding on the ground.

Outdoors at the Nature Fest

We saw a group of 6 or so Hermit Thrushes working their way through the forest.

Somehow, during all the excitement, Laurie-doodle and I managed to get out and have a couple of walks in the woods. What a glorious weekend we had weather wise! As I said before, spring has sprung! Sunshine and warmth were all that we needed to get the bird fever going again.

While I really enjoyed meeting new folks and spreading the "Gospel according to Burdz," getting outside for a little bit and seeing the newly arrived warblers re-awakened my sense of wonder. How can you not be in awe of these tiny feathered creatures and the journeys they make, not once, but twice a year! We sometimes grumble about hiking a couple of miles with our optics to look at our friends. Imagine hundreds or thousands of miles, sometimes over water or mountains, without a break for a drink or a snack. I don't think we'd be up to the challenge.

So, as you view these photos, think of what they went through so we could see them for just a fleeting moment...

I keep trying to get a shot of a Red-red, Robin, bob-bob-bobbin along. I'm getting closer!

Oh, sure. You think these little Black-capped Chickadees are all cute and innocent, well, well, yeah, I guess they are. This one is wearing a little of the new bling courtesy of Tom Bartlett.

A Black-throated Blue Warbler acting polite in Tom's hand.

There were dozens of these Palm Warblers to be found during the festival!

I spied this male Red-bellied Woodpecker through the window behind my display. He seems to be checking out one of the new bracelets Tom passed out Sunday morning.

One of MANY Canada Geese in the ponds near the Rocky River Nature Center.

I wish you could see into that little ripple above the Green Heron. There was a Snapping Turtle U-Boat slowly swimming towards the Heron.

Not so Solitary Sandpipers. There's actually one more off to the right getting yelled at by the bossy one on the left. That's probably why they prefer to be Solitary...

I think I have "Warbler Neck" already. This Yellow-rumped Warbler was waaaayyyy up there! I used a 300mm lens with a 1.4X converter and STILL cropped the heck out of that shot. Hey, Canon! I'm still waiting for that 800mm lens!!

So, I was thinkin' (oh no, you're saying!) about a new blog..."Tree Fungus From Behind"...

North Coast Nature Festival...Update!

The gorgeous Rocky River Valley. What a great place to have a Nature Center!

The week started out with temps going down to the mid-thirties, rain, thunder and hail. My thoughts were mixed about the Nature Festival this weekend, but what a difference a few days make on the north coast! All three days of the festival were outstanding (though I was in standing!). The sun came out and shone on the crowds that came to visit this tremendous area of the Cleveland Metropark System! And the temperatures... close to ninety degrees, spring has definitely sprung here on the shores of Lake Erie.

Bob Hinkle, chief of Outdoor Education of the Metroparks, Bill Thompson III of Bird Watcher's Digest, and Kim Hinkle, wildlife rehabilitator and a Canon nature photographer.

Bill's singing made us want to get out and bird, I meant that in a nice way!

Friday evening started out with a bang! The infamous, ever popular, Bill Thompson III put on a variety show all by himself. He opened with a few words and segued into a song to relax the crowd. He then spoke to the group about "The Perils and Pitfalls of Birding," a truly insightful and humorous look into what birders go through to get the best optics (and clean them), travel across unimaginable distances to find a bird, with said optics (and at times misidentify it) and more of what he's learned over the years. He then finished up with a sing-a-long, "Momma Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Birders."

Bill performing Optics Inspection before the walk. If you don't pass muster, you'll be pulled out of line and made an example of!

Not only a great writer and birder, but an excellent optics cleaner! A full service guide! Please note, Dave Graskemper not paying attention to the cleaning demo and looking at birds, oooo, busted!

If you ever have the opportunity to bird with Bill, DO IT! He has a wealth of knowledge to pass on to anyone with a curious mind.

Bill signed books and arm wrestled afterwards. Saturday morning he lead a highly informative bird walk, after an optics inspection of course, with another talk in the afternoon, "No Child Left Inside: Birds as a Doorway into Nature." Saturday was also the time that the vendors and other displays opened up and more nature walks were offered.

Tom Bartlett, a master bander gave demonstrations on Sunday morning. What a treat to watch him work with the visitors, both feathered and unfeathered.

Tom banded a Yellow-throated Warbler Sunday. The last Yellow-throated Warbler he banded was 25 years ago!

Tom's special Yellow-throated Warbler with his new bracelet.

I had a great time meeting people from all over the northern Ohio area. Many people I haven't seen in a while stopped by to say "Hello." Laurie-Doodles went to most of the talks and seminars while I manned the display and talked about the birds and birding in our area. I even managed to sell a few photos in between talking too much.

Our very special friends, Kathy and Tim Krynak of the Las Gralarias Foundation.

Hugh Rose of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory and our 'homies' Joanne and Terry Gorges of Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society.

Mona Rutger of 'Back to the Wild' rescue and rehab center with her little flying squirrel friend.

It was a great weekend to welcome spring back to our corner of the world. And the birds noticed the great weather also. While standing at my table and daydreaming out the window, I saw Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Palm, Black-throated Blue and Black-and-White Warblers flitting about in the trees. Tomorrow, I'll try to post some of the birds we saw when we were out enjoying the weather.

Yours truly trying to ignore the warblers outside the window.

I have the itch to call in sick and go birding to shoot a few Warblers! Hack-hack....sniffle...yep, I'm coming down with Warbleritis...ack...gotta go...