Red-winged blackbirds are back in Northeast Ohio. It means more bird species will soon follow for spring migration, a significant event for our region. We know bird watching is a popular pastime for many, so it is why we are following through on our previous reports about preventing bird strikes in Cleveland.
The Mentor Public Library is hosting a program about the team that’s making Northeast Ohio safer for migrating birds. Every spring and fall, millions of birds migrate through Ohio on the way to their breeding and overwintering grounds. Most species migrate at night, so the lights on tall buildings can disorient them and even cause them to crash and die.
Building coalitions for migratory bird conservation in urban centers and the importance of monitoring, recovery and rehabilitation in those efforts.
Matthew Shumar is the Program Coordinator for the Ohio Bird Conservation Institute (OBCI), a collaboration of non-profit groups, businesses, state and federal government
agencies, and citizens working to advance bird conservation efforts. The OBCI and its large network of conservation organizations has developed a Lights Out program to work within communities to address light and glass issues in urban areas. Regional Lights Out programs are now running in most of Ohio’s major cities and are supported by a wide variety of conservation organizations, businesses, and individuals. In addition to his work with OBCI, Matt is in charge of web communications for the Association of Field Ornithologists and is the co-editor of The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Ohio.
