Monday, October 14, 2013

Please Help the Cleveland Metroparks!

 "Psst! Vote for the Metroparks so we can stay here!, Pass it down..."

If you live in Cuyahoga County or Hinckley, this is a very important issue. We are so lucky to live in this part of northern Ohio and be surrounded by 18 reservations of the Cleveland Metropark System! 23,000 acres of green space for birding, hiking, fishing and more, all within an hour or less of the city of Cleveland and surrounding suburbs. Very few cities have this much undeveloped area to brag about. AND we have the nationally acclaimed Cleveland Zoo!

Right now they need your help. A yes vote on issue 80 on your upcoming ballot will ensure the preservation of our lovely park system, its Important Bird Areas and other wildlife habitat. It will also fund the clean up and operation of the new lakefront parks that are refuges for the many birds migrating across the great Lake Erie every spring and fall.

Most of this is just a renewal of the 1.8 mill levy. This year they're adding only 0.9 mills for our Cleveland Metroparks. With all the additional space they've acquired from the state of Ohio, it's little to ask for.

 Western Cuyahoga Audubon has done fantastic work surveying 
the Rocky River watershed and its IBA.

 North Chagrin Reservation is a wonderful place for fall color and seeing Wood Ducks...
like the cuties in the first photo!

This is the view from atop of Fort Hill in the Rocky River Reservation.
And, yes, that is the Rocky River.
And, yes, it is rocky.


The Doodles looking for the buzzards
(aka Turkey Vulture or Red-headed Blackbird if it's before March 15th!)
to return to Hinckley Reservation as they do every year!

As you can see, West Creek Reservation needs help!
They have to finish the benches so The Doodles has somewhere to sit and rest her doodles feet!

The Doodles is trying to cat...uh...I mean entice a Chickadee to eat some deelicious sunflower seed!
Brecksville Reservation has a program every winter to hand feed our little feathery friends.


I went for a walk on the boardwalk at the Ohio and Erie Canal Reservation with this Wilson's Snipe.
Casual...yeah.
This reservation is within a highly industrialized area.
You never know what you'll see when a little green space is provided!


Did I mention the world class Cleveland Metroparks Zoo?
I went ape when I visited...(sorry.)


Don't make me sick this angry bird on you!
Help the parks.
Help nature.
Help the birds.
Vote yes.