The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Audubon society turns 60
Author, illustrator Julie Zickefoose tells of her work documenting baby birds of Ohio species
The Black River Audubon Society celebrated 60 years as an organization.
Yet, local bird lovers agreed watching the winged creatures never gets old.
The Black River Audubon Society commemorated its 60th anniversary on Nov. 10 with a look back to founder Jack Smith and an Ohio author who talked about her quest to create hand-painted portraits of baby birds.
About 120 people came out to Lorain County Metro Parks’ Carlisle Reservation for the birthday reception, with an appearance by author and artist Jule Zickefoose.
She is the author of “Baby Birds: An Artist Looks into the Nest.” The nonfiction book details her 13-year project to draw and paint nestlings of 17 bird species from hatching to fledging.
Her work entailed no risky adventure to an exotic locale. Rather, her family lives in southern Ohio’s Appalachian foothills, so Zickefoose paints and writes on
bluebirds, indigo buntings, cardinals, mourning doves and other regional species.
“I raise what comes to be by chance,” she said.
Zickefoose had nesting boxes that the birds used, and she would study and feed the newly hatched birds for her illustrations. She explained the habits of birds that can spend less than two weeks in the nest from hatching to flying out - although some backyard
species rely on parental feeding for days after they leave the nest.
She told the group: “To know birds well, it helps to have been their mama.”
The day included a tribute to Smith, whose Sunday nature walks and talks were the precursor to starting the Black River Audubon Society. Its first meeting was in March 1958, with Smith presenting slides of bird photos and recordings of their calls, said President Jim Jablonski.
“It was Jack’s benevolence that made this event a reality,” Jablonski said.
The organization is more than just bird-watching, Jablonski said. Black River Audubon Society has a park in the center of Elyria and works with Lorain County Community College to maintain the meadow environment on campus, he said.
The organization has a speakers bureau for members to present to other groups and members spread materials around to local grade schools, Jablonski said.
Apart from bird watching, the members care about environmental and social diversity as assets, said Harriet Alger, a past president and member since 1997. They follow and research issues including air and water pollution, she said.
“This has not been just about birds,” said Alger, 90, a Lorain native who now lives in Vermilion. “The main thing is, when you love birds, you want them to have an environment where they keep living and keep coming back.”
Zickefoose’s research touches on bluebirds, which nest in Lorain County.
The Black River Audubon Society has a committee dedicated to those birds, another effort that Smith started.
A network of almost four dozen volunteers make weekly visits to 450 nesting boxes divided up into 31 trails around the county, said Penny Brandau of Amherst, who co-chairs the committee with her husband, Fritz.
They track the numbers of eggs and hatches and clean out the boxes once the bluebirds have fledged. Their data becomes logged with citizen scientist research recorded by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, Brandau said.
“They’re all over the place, so it’s a pretty big program,” she said.
The members are not strangers to the baby birds that Zickefoose described.
“If you’re opening a box every week, one week it’s an egg and 14 days later, they’re babies,” Brandau said.
The boxes are a help to the birds. This past year, Lorain County fledged about 800 bluebirds and 1,600 tree swallows, Brandau said.
The Black River Audubon Society publishes a list of indoor programs and field trips from September to April. Most of the meetings take place at the Carlisle Reservation visitor center.
For those activities, the society notes visitors are welcome.
A network of almost four dozen volunteers make weekly visits to 450 nesting boxes divided up into 31 trails around the county, said Penny Brandau of Amherst, who co-chairs the committee with her husband, Fritz.