Birders of all skill levels are invited to Blackbrook Audubon’s monthly bird walk Sunday, January 25 at Veterans Park. Attendees will meet 8:00 a.m. at 5730 Hopkins Road in Mentor. 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 year-round.
Seven hardy birders started the December walk in gray but dry conditions. Before the halfway point, a light rain fell. As they approached the pond, they were greeted by an adult Bald Eagle swooping low over the ice as if searching for fish underneath.
Species found on this walk will count toward Blackbrook’s January 100 challenge, a community attempt to reach 100 bird species by combining lists submitted to Blackbrook from anywhere in Ohio. Immediately following this walk, Blackbrook will provide hot cocoa and cookies beside the fire in the picnic pavilion and review the list to that point. Birders will have until January 31 to find birds that are missing from the list but typical for this time of year. Blackbrook will host a field trip on the 31st to Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve at 10:00 a.m.
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, kingfishers and mergansers. The list on eBird.org shows 207 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.