Shreve festival touts migrating birds
by Bob Downing
Beacon Journal
by Bob Downing
Beacon Journal
The wetlands in southern Wayne County will be alive with migrating waterfowl and songbirds when Shreve hosts the fifth annual Shreve Migration Sensation from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The activities include speakers from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Shreve Elementary School, 598 N. Market St. (state Route 226).
There will be self-guided birding tours from 8 a.m. to noon to nearby 5,492-acre Killbuck Marsh, 228-acre Shreve Lake and 1,154-acre Funk Bottoms wildlife areas.
The three state wildlife areas are part of Ohio's largest inland wetland on the border between Wayne, Holmes and Ashland counties.
You will likely see lots of migrating waterfowl and perhaps sandhill cranes and bald eagles, and the event is designed to appeal from beginner to expert birders.
Stop by the school and get a map and directions to the wetland sites, where experts from the Ohio Division of Wildlife will be stationed and spotting scopes will be set up for visitors to use. You can bring your own binoculars or spotting scopes, if you prefer.
The biggest crowds are usually drawn to the bald eagle nesting site in the Killbuck Marsh. It is off Force Road east of Cemetery Road in Franklin Township.
The schedule of speakers is:
• 8:30 a.m. -- Prairie Plants by Randy Carmel, a science teacher at Wooster High School.
• 9:30 a.m. -- Ohio River Otters: An Amazing Success Story by Chris Dwyer of the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
• 10:30 a.m. -- Butterflies by Roger Downer, a researcher at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center at Wooster.
• 12:30 p.m. -- Waterfowl by Jim McCormac of the Ohio Division of Wildlife and author of Birds of Ohio.
• 1:30 p.m. -- The Peregrine Falcon: Nature's Most Efficient Flying Machine by Chad and Chris Saladin of Lorain, who monitor nesting peregrine falcons in the Cleveland area.
• 2:30 p.m. -- Ohio Bats by Merrill Tawse of the Richland County Park District.
For youngsters, Tom Roig of Shreve will present a program on sled dog racing for youngsters and Laura Jordan of the Medina Raptor Center will be on hand with hawks and owls.
The program is being sponsored by the Friends of the Killbuck Marsh, a grass-roots nonprofit group; the Shreve Business & Community Association; and the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
The fee is $10 a person or $15 a family.
For more information, call 800-821-0456 or 800-362-6474. You can also check out the Internet site www.shreveohio.com.
The activities include speakers from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Shreve Elementary School, 598 N. Market St. (state Route 226).
There will be self-guided birding tours from 8 a.m. to noon to nearby 5,492-acre Killbuck Marsh, 228-acre Shreve Lake and 1,154-acre Funk Bottoms wildlife areas.
The three state wildlife areas are part of Ohio's largest inland wetland on the border between Wayne, Holmes and Ashland counties.
You will likely see lots of migrating waterfowl and perhaps sandhill cranes and bald eagles, and the event is designed to appeal from beginner to expert birders.
Stop by the school and get a map and directions to the wetland sites, where experts from the Ohio Division of Wildlife will be stationed and spotting scopes will be set up for visitors to use. You can bring your own binoculars or spotting scopes, if you prefer.
The biggest crowds are usually drawn to the bald eagle nesting site in the Killbuck Marsh. It is off Force Road east of Cemetery Road in Franklin Township.
The schedule of speakers is:
• 8:30 a.m. -- Prairie Plants by Randy Carmel, a science teacher at Wooster High School.
• 9:30 a.m. -- Ohio River Otters: An Amazing Success Story by Chris Dwyer of the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
• 10:30 a.m. -- Butterflies by Roger Downer, a researcher at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center at Wooster.
• 12:30 p.m. -- Waterfowl by Jim McCormac of the Ohio Division of Wildlife and author of Birds of Ohio.
• 1:30 p.m. -- The Peregrine Falcon: Nature's Most Efficient Flying Machine by Chad and Chris Saladin of Lorain, who monitor nesting peregrine falcons in the Cleveland area.
• 2:30 p.m. -- Ohio Bats by Merrill Tawse of the Richland County Park District.
For youngsters, Tom Roig of Shreve will present a program on sled dog racing for youngsters and Laura Jordan of the Medina Raptor Center will be on hand with hawks and owls.
The program is being sponsored by the Friends of the Killbuck Marsh, a grass-roots nonprofit group; the Shreve Business & Community Association; and the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
The fee is $10 a person or $15 a family.
For more information, call 800-821-0456 or 800-362-6474. You can also check out the Internet site www.shreveohio.com.
