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OYBC founded by the
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
bsbobird.org
May 4 - May 13, 2012
| Upcoming OYBC Events: |
| • Cleveland Museum of Natural History - Sat, Jan 28 |
| • Winter Blues Blowout - Sat, Feb 11 |
Recent News:
Visit to OSU Museum - On January 21, 2012, the OYBC, led by the Central Ohio Chapter, visited the Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity. Student member Alexander Martin wrote a report about the visit. Field trip participants observed numerous species in the museum's collection, and they watched a recently deceased local Snowy Owl get prepared as a bird specimen for future study. A video about the field trip exists on the OYBC Facebook page.
BSBO to be awarded - The League of Ohio Sportsmen named the Black Swamp Bird Observatory the Conservation Organization of the Year. The award will be presented at the League's 2012 convention in Perrysburg on February 18th. A big "Thank You" goes to all the BSBO partners, sponsors, supporters, and volunteers. The League is Ohio's oldest conservation organization. From the League's website: "The League was organized in 1908 by a group of far-seeing sportsmen to save the remnants of the fast disappearing natural resources of the state." The BSBO founded the Ohio Young Birders Club in May 2006.
Sponsorship Renewal - The Canton Audubon Society renewed its sponsorship of the OYBC. Thank you very much. We're extremely grateful for the support from all of our sponsors. From the CAS's website: "The Canton Audubon Society (CAS) was founded in 1962 and has been a local chapter of the National Audubon Society in Stark, Tuscarawas, Coshocton and Wayne counties since 1981."
Ethan Kistler joins the BSBO - Ethan is our new Education and Outreach Specialist, so you'll definitely hear more from him in the future. This important position at BSBO was made possible by a grant from Stranahan Supporting Organization, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative monies through a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grant and our partners at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, and the support of private donors. For some of you, Ethan's name will be familiar. Ethan was one of the founding members of our Ohio Young Birders Club back in 2006. Ethan's blog is nomadicbirder.blogspot.com. Ethan maintains the Winter Bird Movement Maps for Ohio.
Deceased Snowy Owl will 'live' on in museum -
Over the past few weeks, you may have followed the bird sightings and the news reports
about the Snowy Owl, located in Hardin County.
Maybe you were lucky enough to see it in person.
Unfortunately, as you may have heard, this bird did not survive, and it appears to have ultimately died of starvation.
Very sad, but it's not an unusual fate for a Snowy Owl that dips this far south.
Article in Columbus Dispatch newspaper.
But here's the part where something positive comes from tragedy ...
Read more about this >>
Engage, share, and learn - Here are two ways to apply your interest in wildlife.
• Wildlife Conservation Youth Engagement Grants -
From Planet Connect. For ages 14-19.
Applications are due February 1, 2012, and they can be completed online.
Planet Connect is offering high school students grants of $1,000 to implement their problem-solving projects
and participate in a local internship focused on wildlife conservation.
Watch video.
• ABA Young Birder of the Year Contest -
Contest runs from April through October. For ages 10-18. Four modules: field notebook, illustration, writing, and photography.
Participate in one module or all four modules.
You customize the contest to fit your own interests.
Participating will help sharpen your field skills.
Fremont CBC recap - 22 people participated in the
Fremont Christmas Bird Count that was held on
Saturday, December 31, 2011. The crew tallied 77 species and 50,124 individual birds,
while driving 595 miles and walking 32 miles. We also consumed more than two jumbo pizzas at the Green Creek Hunting Club
tally rally party.
The highlights included great numbers and diversity of waterfowl, including 17 duck and merganser species,
over 3,600 American Black Ducks, and over 21,000 Mallards.
Other notable sightings for this year's count included 4 Snow Geese, 5 Cackling Geese, 11 Eastern Screech Owls,
54 Northern Flickers, 5 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 2 Rusty Blackbirds, 3 Pine Siskins,
and 2 Northern Mockingbirds, which is a new but long expected species for this count circle.
This year's total of 77 species tied the Fremont count record.
• Count Data
Installing the Osprey platform - On November 13, 2011, the
Central Ohio OYBC Chapter
installed the Osprey platform that they constructed on September 24, 2011.
The platform was erected at Glacier Ridge Metro Park.
• report by student member Doug Whitman
• photos at the Columbus Audubon gallery
2012 Field Trip Schedule - The 2012 schedule of events is up, but it's unfinished. We would appreciate your input. Give us your thoughts. We would like to hear your ideas on alternative locations, additional field trips, service projects, or something new that the OYBC has not done before.
Conference quotes and photos - Around 110 people attended the OYBC's
5th Annual Conference,
which was held on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center in Columbus, Ohio.
We enjoyed a morning bird walk, a bird banding demo, a live raptor display, the bird ID quiz,
a fine lunch, fabulous door prizes, a presentation on birding opportunities for young people,
and amazing presentations by the students. It was a grand day. A memorable day.
• post-conference quotes
• photos at the OYBC Facebook page taken by Tim Daniel
• more photos on our Facebook page
• photos at keynote speaker Rachael Butek's Facebook page
• recap by student member Jacob Stinnett
Another conference update - As of Wednesday, November 2, 99 people have registered for this Saturday's OYBC conference. The registration deadline has now passed. You can, however, register at the door on the day of the conference, but we cannot guarantee that you will receive a lunch from the caterer.
Nov 2, 2011
Installing the Osprey platform -
The Osprey platform,
which was constructed
by the Central Ohio OYBC chapter
on Sep 24, 2011, has found a home.
It will be installed on Sun, Nov 13, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. at Glacier Ridge Metro Park, which is the same park
where
the Central Ohio chapter installed a nest box
grid in March 2011. You're invited to help install the Osprey platform.
Read more about this >>
Conference update - As of October 28, nearly 80 people have registered for the November 5, 2011 OYBC conference, which will be held in Columbus. It's not too late to register. You can also register at the door on the day of the conference. If you prefer to register at the door on November 5, contact us anyway, so we can make name badges and reserve lunches. On conference day, optional morning activities begin at 8:30 a.m. People can sign-in at 10:00 a.m. Opening remarks begin at 10:30 a.m. The conference will end around 4:00 p.m.
2011 Big Sit Recap - The 2011 OYBC Big Sit Fundraiser
was held on Saturday, October 15 at the Port Clinton Lakefront Preserve.
We knew it would be a tough spot to observe a lot of birds. We tallied 31 species.
Spotting scopes were required. Strong W-SW winds battered us all day.
9 students and 19 adults visited and/or participated at least part of the day.
The big sit raised over $5000, so we exceeded our goal.
Thanks to all who stopped by on Saturday, and a huge "Thank You!!" to everyone who donated.
• Photos uploaded to the OYBC Facebook page.
• Student member Kristina Polk posted a summary on her blog.
• Read more about the 2011 Big Sit recap >>
Trip to The Wilds Recap - The Central Ohio OYBC Chapter
visited The Wilds, located in Eastern Ohio on Sunday, October 9, 2011.
• Write-up
by student member Aaron Tayal
• Photos
at the Central Ohio Chapter's photo album
Osprey platform construction recap - Photos
of the September 24, 2011 Central Ohio Chapter's Osprey platform construction project
and a message from the advisors:
"On a chilly fall morning, 8 Ohio Young Birders gathered to construct an Osprey nesting platform.
With drills, rasps, wire cutters, drill press, ratchets, nails, screws, tape measures and even an anvil,
they worked for 4 hours with awesome results. Thank you to these young conservationists!
And thank you to the fantastic adults who oversaw the project and gave of their expertise, time,
steady hands, and delicious donuts to help make the day a success."
• Write-up by student member Sarah Martin.
OYBC at MBS 2011 - It was a busy day
on Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at the Midwest Birding Symposium in Lakeside, Ohio. We had good weather with comfy temps all day.
It was cloudy with light wind in the morning and sunny and breezy in the afternoon.
About 15 people, including a half dozen students,
participated in our morning field trip walk around Lakeside, which began shortly after 8:00 a.m. It took a while, but we finally
found a mixed group of birds, including several species of warblers that were hanging out with a couple chatty titmice.
Dedicated adult volunteers staffed Killdeer Korner from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. where young people made arts and crafts.
Over 30 people attended the excellent afternoon presentation given by OYBC student members Sarah Winnicki and Wyatt Miller
on the subject of encouraging the entire family to go birding. Students attended other fascinating MBS presentations.
The vendor area was large and exciting. Not enough hours in the day. It was a good kind of tired.
Photos at the OYBC Facebook page.
