Shreve Migration: A Sensation!

The small town of Shreve Ohio must have wondered where all the birders came from, as 900 people descended upon this usually bucolic burg in the heart of Ohio's Amish county. To read the full coverage in the local paper, go here.

Great balmy-weather birding and programs were the main draw, while a nice selection of vendors and educational displays rounded out the mix. It was old-home week for many of my feather-friends, and I enjoyed seeing so many GMAS and OOSers.

Marc Nolls, Jim MCcormac and Dave Ford in the field.

After tending to the Greater Mohican Audubon Society booth for a bit of the morning, we hit the waterholes to have a look-see. The waterfowl were plentiful and the frogs were in good chorus too. Although we were unable to actually locate the leopard frogs, we knew they were about from their underwater "snores" - grrrrowl.

The afternoon was filled with programs, one featured Ohio Peregrine Falcons, which included some amazing video and photos (one shown here.) It was a fascinating look at the life history of these "Bullet hawks" from birth to death.

Hilliary the Peregrine Falcon.

Last two speakers: McCormac and Kaufman, both worth the wait. Jim McCormac showed some lovely images from his about-to-be-released book, Wild Ohio: The Best of our Natural Heritage, and regaled the audience with his depth of knowledge and well-developed sense of humor. Anyone who enjoys nature will want to learn about the incredible diversity Ohio has to offer and you can pre-order a copy of his book, just go here for the form.

And last, but certainly not least, Kenn Kaufman should win a "constellation" prize for his program on migration and the movement to save habitat with shade grown coffee. If you love birds, think twice about your morning cup of Joe; think shade grown.

Thanks everyone, for a wonderful day!

Ceruleans and Coffee

In support of Kenn Kaufman's program at today's Shreve Migration Sensation, I am re-posting this Shade-grown coffee blog.
Photo by Brian Zwiebel

What does your morning cup of coffee have to do with Cerulean warblers? Plenty, according to the research by Dr. Amanda Rodewald at The Ohio State University. Her program at the Ohio Wildlife Diversity Conference focused on the Cerulean Warbler and the terrifying 70% decline in its global population since 1966.

Shade grown coffee could be the answer. Many neotropical birds utilize the plants, often coffee, growing in the understory mountainous regions of South American. More aptly, they “utilize” the insects that visit those plants. All was well and good, until shade grown coffee was tossed aside and the soil tilled and managed for sun grown coffee. The difference is the same contrast between an organic Ohio Amish farm and the huge corporate farms tilling large swathes of land with no hedgerows, and chemically controlled weeds and insects. Not a bird (or people) friendly operation.

What can you do? Let’s make that effort to purchase shade grown coffee. If we all did a little- we could accomplish a lot! Folger's and Maxwell House should be trembling at the prospective loss from my coffee drinking habits alone!

Help protect the neotropicals: please pass this blog link on to your friends, and let's start rewriting history. Purchase shade grown coffee and give the warblers a break! Please click the new link on the sidebar to order your Audubon coffee.

Photo provided by Brian Zwiebel, to purchase his exceptional photography, please go to Nature Photography Portfolio.