Happy New Year! I (Jennie) am relocating to Findlay, Ohio for a brand new job with the Natural Resources Conservation Service as a Cartographer. Findlay is in the northwest part of the state, 44 miles south of Toledo.
This is a scary yet exciting time for both my son, Dakota and I; we are eager to see Lake Erie and find the many places to go birding. Since my brother (Eddie) will be in Rockford, Illinois, our hope is that this will be an interesting new year of blogging from duel locations!
What we are most looking forward to:
- !!Dakota joining the Ohio Young Birders Club!!
- !Birding and connecting with other Ohio birders such as Kenn and Kim Kaufman!
- Living near and visiting the Black Swamp Bird Observatory and Magee Marsh
- Starting a brand new state bird list
- Learning all about Ohio’s flora and fauna
Dakota and Jennie 2010 FIRSTS:
- First heard and seen bird of the year: Canada Goose from the hotel doorway
- First Ohio bird: Red-tailed Hawk from the highway
New Year’s Eve decorations at the hotel in Findlay
Best of luck! When I was at the Midwest Birding Symposium this past fall, I met a lot of Ohio birders, and they’re a great bunch; expert, proactive, and personable. And the Ohio Young Birders Club appears to be one of the most lively and vital bird/youth organizations in the country. Sounds like a nice place to move to!
Good luck with your new job and relocation Jennie!
Welcome to Ohio! I’m in the Cleveland area and Ohio is great for bird watching.
…welcome to Ohio! We have great birding. I’m down at the bottom of the state in Cincinnati, but travel up to Lake Erie whenever I can. You’re lucky to be so close to Magee Marsh and BSBO!
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! I’ve already met a lot of friendly folk here in Ohio. I look forward to getting all set up here to bird and blog about Ohio birding!
Hi Jennie. I live in Toledo and work with the Ohio Young Birders Club at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. Our next OYBC field trip is with the BSBO at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area on Sun, Feb 7. Unfortunately, Kim and Kenn won’t be able to attend, but they’ll be at the Shreve Migration Sensation on Sat, Mar 27. That’s also where the OYBC is having its March field trip. We had fun there last year. The Shreve Migration Sensation is a well-attended, one-day birding festival. And this year, a few OYBC members will be giving a presentation at Shreve titled “Birding Basics 101.” A short time ago, I printed the “Take Kids Birding” guide on the front page of this site. We might have some feedback to contribute. We’re trying to assemble a low-cost birdwatcher’s starter kit for young people. For the past two years, I’ve intentionally been using two different pairs of inexpensive but good quality binoculars. It’s amazing what’s available today in optics for around $100 compared to just 10 years ago. Hope to see you and Dakota on one of our field trips. We have a Facebook fan page now at http://facebook.com/ohioyoungbirders And check out the Toledo Naturalists too for bird sightings and field trips in northwest Ohio. Their Web sites are toledonaturalist.org and rarebird.org.