Description: In 2023 Jerry was captivated by the first Trumpeter swan nest he came upon in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. That initial encounter became a personal project as he documented the 2023 nesting season with still images and videos.

Bio: Jerry is an active member of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Photographic Society for whom he leads outings. Jerry is a five time winner of the Best of Show award for the society and his still images have appeared in CVNP's yearly calendars as well as numerous CVNP publications.

Leader: Patty McKelvy
Meet at: The South edge of the reservoir at the top of the hill.

A look at the research on migrant Northern Saw-whet owls in Ohio. How, why, where and the results.

H Thomas Bartlett (tom); Research Associate with the Department of Ornithology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, retired secondary science teacher (31+ years) , licensed bird bander with the US Geological Survey (53 years), certified bird bander and trainer under the North American Banding Council, published dozens of papers and one book. Tom is married with one daughter. He and his wife Paula, who now works with him on the research, and one daughter, They spend 4-5 months a year on the Lake Erie Islands banding birds and another 30+ days a year banding at Springville Marsh State Nature Preserve. In Oct 2021, Tom banded a Northern Saw-whet on Kelly’s Island giving making that his 100,000 bird banded since 1971. He and his team have banded over 1250 Norther Saw-=whet owls on Kelly’s Iland alone. This data has been used to protect over 2090 acres of land on the Lake Erie Islands.

This will be our first Annual Meeting Event. We will have dinner, Chinese raffles and a silent auction along with this great program on Owls. We will catch you up on all that BRAS has done in 2024 and what we hope to accomplish in 2025.

The cost is $20 per person and you get 5 raffle tickets with that. Registration is required.

Join Marne Titchenell , Extension Wildlife Program Director for the Ohio State University, as she discusses the lives of Ohio bats and dispels common myths. She will discuss the unique ecology of bats, threats to their populations and what folks can do to help Ohio’s bat populations.

Marne is the Extension Wildlife Program Specialist, with the School of Environment and Natural Resources, within the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Marne received her B.S. and M.S. in wildlife management and forestry from the Ohio State University, where she studied the response of bat populations to harvests in oak-hickory forests in southern Ohio. Her work with bats continues in her current position, where she helped to establish the Ohio Bat Working Group, co-authored the Ohio Bat Conservation Plan, and provides public and professional education on bat ecology and conservation. She also works to provide a variety of educational programs, workshops, conferences, and publications centered on wildlife ecology and biology, habitat management for wildlife, and managing nuisance wildlife species.

Black River Room

About one billion birds die each year in the United States from window strikes and 46% of these collisions occur on residential structures. Learn some of the latest research and what simple, affordable deterrents can be purchased or made at home.

Lucy began experimenting with bird-window collision prevention at her Seven Hills home in 2009 after witnessing a male robin strike the sunroom window, at a top speed, as he was fleeing a raptor.

Her early methods were using crude materials that often resulted in hilarious window aesthetics, but they worked! Now, Lucy uses the latest films and markers for a more please effect.

Woodpeckers represent one of the most specialized bird families in the world, and these woodland carpenters perform critical ecological services in Ohio’s forest and woodland habitats. In fact, on no other continent than North America are woodpeckers such important contributors to woodland ecology. Join author, naturalist, field biologist, and woodpecker fanatic, Steve Shunk, for an exciting journey into the lives and times of Ohio’s woodpeckers. Steve will share secrets of woodpecker anatomy and their fascinating adaptations plus stories of their dynamic natural histories as he interprets the keystone roles that woodpeckers play across the Buckeye State and beyond.

Author of the Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America, Steve gives presentations and leads birding tours from North America to Borneo. He co-founded the East Cascades Bird Conservancy and the Oregon Birding Trails program, and he has studied woodpeckers for more than 25 years from his former base in Central Oregon. Today, Steve and his partner, Lizzy Martinez, work as resident naturalists at a private guest ranch in western Jalisco, Mexico, where they enjoy regional endemics like the Golden-cheeked and Gray-crowned Woodpeckers. When not guiding on the ranch, Steve leads tours for Arizona-based Naturalist Journeys.

Lynds Jones (1865-1951) was a pioneering ornithologist and ecologist from Oberlin who is responsible for many of the common practices that recreational birders take for granted as “standard practice” in the field, more than a century later, including keeping lists, doing Big Days, and the Christmas Bird Count.

Diana Steele has been a science writer for more than 30 years. She is an avid birder and has birded in all 50 U.S. states and six continents. An active volunteer with BRAS, she is also a former board member of the Ohio Ornithological Society.

A series of slides and specimens will be presented along with a discussion of a new “invasive” species.

Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an invasive planthopper that feeds on a wide range of plants, including grapes, hops, stone fruits, and hardwood trees. When the spotted lanternfly feeds, it excretes a sticky, sugary fluid that causes sooty mold, which can further damage plants. Its preferred host is tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), and today 17 States have some degree of infestation.

The spotted lanternfly is a hitchhiking pest that is native to Asia. It lays its eggs on any hard surface including grills, vehicles, trailers, firewood, outdoor furniture, bikes and toys. The pest was first detected in 2014 in Pennsylvania. It likely arrived in the United States on goods shipped from overseas.

Sue is a retired earth and life science teacher who has traveled to all 50 states visiting many national parks and monuments. She is also the first woman firefighter, paramedic, inspector serving the Avon Lake Fire Dept. for 32 years, part time. Sue was the recipient of the 2024 BRAS Hog Island scholarship.

Marily will explain the mutual dependence of flowers and bees, the caste system within the hive and how to manage a hive.

Marilyn has been a beekeeper for 10 years, successfully managing two of her own hives and is deeply involved with the Lorain County Beekeepers Association.

Butterflies are largely admired for their beauty and grace, but are rarely recognized for their variety of physical, chemical, and behavioral adaptations that increase their survival rates. This program is designed to discuss these defense strategies along with photos and anecdotes from the travels of Dr. Glenn Crisler’s travels across the eastern USA.

Dr. Glenn Crisler II is an analytical chemist with a deep passion for lepidoptery. Glenn is an avid naturalist who leads outdoor hikes and delivers lectures for various organizations. He is on a mission to photograph all the butterfly species of the eastern USA. Some of his findings have been featured in News of the Lepidopterist’s Society and the Society of Kentucky Lepidopterists.

Ms. Uhrig will focus on the current population status of American kestrels, discuss several research projects conducted a The Wilds by staff and university researchers, trends in nesting success and what we can do to help conserve this declining species.

Genelle Uhrig, M.Sc. is the Director of Ecology at The Wilds. Ms. Uhrig is a Conservation Biologist with 8 years of experience in field ecology and conservation genetics, specializing in on-invasive genetic studies utilizing scat and environmental DNA (eDNA) for species and individual ID, genetic diversity, gene flow, and parentage analyses. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University and a Master of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Ms. Uhrig has worked with a variety of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife species and currently works with native species reintroduction efforts at The Wilds, including Eastern hellbenders and the federally threatened, state endangered American burying beetle. In addition to working with native Ohio wildlife species, mis. Uhrig also oversees restoration efforts at The Wilds.

The Wilds has been involved in American kestrel conservation in SE Ohio for over a decade with the initial installation of several nest boxes on and around the property. Efforts were expanded in 2020 with the addition of 9 new boxes and again in 2024 with an additional 3 new nest boxes. The Wilds has worked with several Ohio bird conservation groups on these efforts including the Ohio Ornithological Society, Ohio Bluebird Society, several chapters of the Audubon Society, and Kirtland Bird Club, to name a few. The Wilds has also partnered with university professors from Muskingum University and Ohio University on several American kestrel research projects. With almost 10,000 acres of protected land of which over 700 have been restored to tall-grass prairie, The Wilds is prime habitat for this declining species.