Event Details
Birders of all skill levels are invited to Blackbrook Audubon's monthly bird walk at Veterans Park. Trails are level with asphalt, compacted gravel and boardwalk. The walk leaders will have a couple pairs of binoculars to lend. Blackbrook will host this bird survey on the fourth Sunday of every month through August.
Last month's group kept finding occupied nests as they watched a Cooper's Hawk add material to her nest and an incubating Blue Jay and Canada Goose. They also noted American Robins building a new nest. Forty-five species on the list included Chimney Swift and Purple Martin, Pied-billed Grebe and Cedar Waxwings.
At 100 acres, Veterans Park encompasses the largest inland pond in Lake County, Granger Pond, and protects a remnant of original Ohio swamp forest. The property was once a sand quarry. The City of Mentor purchased it from the Granger family in 1970 and formed Mentor’s first neighborhood park. It's now managed by Lake Metroparks, which stocks the pond with catfish, bass, bluegill and rainbow trout. A valid Ohio fishing license is required to fish at Veterans Park.
Granger Pond's wide expanse attracts both fishermen and birds such as herons and mergansers. The list on eBird.org shows 210 species for this location. Just under a mile from Lake Erie, the pond and tree cover at Veterans Park offer birds inland shelter from blustery lake conditions.
Blackbrook Audubon covers Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake Counties as the local chapter of National Audubon Society. Contact Blackbrook Audubon at blackbrookaud@aol.com. Find updates on their Facebook page.
Photo: Blue Jay by Laurie White