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Birds in Lake Metroparks | Hummingbird Contest
Woodpecker video | Chagrin River recognized as Important Bird Area
 Watching and learning about birds are great ways to stay connected to our natural world. Lake Metroparks encourages the growing pastime of birdwatching through bird walks, birdwatching classes, day trips and eco-trips. Three of our parks - Chagrin River Park, Girdled Road Reservation, and Hell Hollow Wilderness Area - have been designated Important Bird Areas by Audubon Ohio for their role as breeding areas and places of rest and feeding during migration.
Birds in Lake Metroparks
A sample of birds that can be seen at specific parks includes:
- Eastern bluebirds, dark-eyed juncos, and American goldfinches year-round at Penitentiary Glen Reservation
- Magnolia warblers, black-throated blue warblers, chestnut-sided warblers, and yellow warblers at Chagrin River Park during spring and fall migration
- Bufflehead ducks, ring-necked ducks, and ruddy ducks at Veterans Park during winter months
Annual Hummingbird Contest
 Guess when the first hummingbird will be spotted by the staff at
Penitentiary Glen Nature Center! Mail-in or drop-off postcard with your
guess of the date and time of the first sighting by May 1, and you may win a
new Hummingbird Feeding Station. Call (440) 256-1404 for rules and
information.
Congratulations to this year's Hummingbird Sighting Contest winner Susan Obergefell.
First sighting was at 4:47 pm on Saturday, May 3. Susan was the winner out of 299 entries this year.
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Chagrin River Park recognized as an Important Bird Area by Audubon Ohio
Audubon Ohio recognized Chagrin River Park as an Important Bird Area (IBA) at a celebration held at Chagrin River Park on Saturday, June 23. The IBA program is Audubon Ohio’s lead conservation initiative with the goal of identifying key areas throughout the state that are critical to the survival of birds, and promoting the conservation of these areas in order to maintain healthy bird populations. The Blackbrook Audubon Society sponsored the dedications and provided the focus for the recognition.
The Chagrin River forms an integral part of the 64 IBAs that have been identified so far in Ohio. They meet the science-based criteria necessary to qualify as IBAs in Ohio. This IBA forms essential habitat for breeding birds as well as migrating songbirds and as such exhibit excellent Neotropical migrant bird diversity.
IBA sites must meet at least one of the following criteria in order to qualify:
a high concentration of birds; birds associated with a unique habitat; one or more species of high conservation priority; or a long history of bird research.
“Lake Metroparks and the Blackbrook Audubon Society have worked together since the founding of the park district to provide activities which promote a better understanding and appreciation of the abundant natural resources of Northeast Ohio”, says Ann Bugeda, Chief of Interpretation Services for Lake Metroparks. As a dedicated club of bird enthusiasts, the Blackbrook Audubon Society worked diligently in 2006 and 2007 to document the diversity and number of birds using the Chagrin River Park as a migration stopover and potential breed habitat. This information is now part of the permanent record of bird activities at this park.
This recognition celebrates the value of green spaces in our suburban communities and in particular, at this riverside park, where birds and other wildlife can successfully co-exist with our many park users (dog walkers, strollers, joggers.) Chagrin River Park is the most visited of the Lake Metroparks with more than 500,000 using the park annually.
Other parks recognized as Important Bird Areas include:
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