Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland Presents |
FEBRUARY PROGRAM Virtually all Ice Age animal remains discovered in the Midwest have been found in the peat deposits of former swamps and bogs. In a repeated scenario across the Great Lakes region, excavations for agricultural or construction purposes have blundered upon the bones of extinct animals including mastodons, ground sloths, elk-moose and other Pleistocene megafauna. This illustrated program provides an overview of the Ice Age animals of Ohio with a special focus on finds in the Cleveland region. Program will include a tabletop display of sampling of local mastodon bones from CMNH's collections. For a slide show introduction to birding, click here.
The Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland (ASGC) promotes the conservation and appreciation of birds and other wildlife through habitat preservation and educational activities. It is a chapter of the National Audubon Society and is one of northeast Ohio’s oldest continuously operating environmental organizations; founded in 1928. ASGC now has over 1,200 members throughout NE Ohio and owns over 500 acres of land protected as both Audubon Sanctuaries and Ohio State Nature Preserves. It restored and renovated a building located in the Audubon Blanche Katherine Novak Sanctuary as a regional Novak Education Center. |
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FEBRUARY FIELD OUTING This is an annual walk to count every bird we see and hear along the path in our sanctuary. The project is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. The data is emailed to Cornell and you can monitor the progress online. Several years ago Ohio was a top contributor, so let us try to do it again. If you cannot participate on the walk, you can do it at home out your kitchen window. All you need is a few minutes of observation on any or all the days of February 17, 18, 19, or 20. And then email your results in to “The Great Backyard Bird Count”. You can participate in the nation-wide bird count on a morning walk through the Aurora Audubon Sanctuary and spend the afternoon hearing about dinosaurs, our birds’ colorful ancestors (see below). Mark your calendars and plan to make a day of it! |
Dr. Shawkey is interested in the optics, evolution and development of animal colors and will update us on a project using knowledge of bird colors to reconstruct dinosaur color from fossilized pigments. If you are participating in Jim Tomko’s Great Backyard Bird Count (see above), the Novak Education Center is just around the corner. So why not join in the morning field outing, have lunch at one of the local eateries and come by for the afternoon program. BIRDING 101 FOR BEGINNERS This fall, the Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland is planning a Beginning Birding 101 course for new birders (adults ) and young birders (12-18 years of age). The course will be offered on nine or 10 Saturdays beginning infrom 12:30-2:30 pm at the Audubon Education Center in Aurora. Class size is limited to 16. The course will cover basic identification of common birds of Ohio, bird anatomy and physiology, flight and migration, bird behavior, reproduction, ecology and conservation issues. Students are encouraged to set up bird feeders at their homes and participate in birding field trips offered by Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland. There is no charge for the course. If you are interested or know a young person who might like to help us start a Young Birders group, please email Sandy Buckles at: s-buckles@hotmail.com For a schedule of classes, click here |
