We had a rockin’ good time in Cleveland on the Rock & Roll Reader Rendezvous as November turned into December. The weather was unseasonably mild but the birding was still completely awesome with snowy owl, common redpoll, pomarine jaeger, and northern shrike among our greatest hits! In fact, we saw either five or six snowy owls during the weekend, which most attendees agreed was a #1 with a bullet on the birding charts.
We spent our first two mornings birding at legendary Lake Erie hotspots including Wendy Park, Lakefront Nature Preserve, Burke Lakefront Airport, and Edgewater Park with Cleveland’s equally legendary birder Jen Brumfield. Jen knows the region and its birds better than almost anyone else and she kept producing birds everywhere we went. Our afternoons were spent indoors at two of Cleveland’s best museums: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Our Rock Hall guide was Buster Banish, a docent there since the HOF opened. Buster blew our minds with his insight and knowledge of the rock greats and their things in the museum’s collection. We all wished we’d had more time there to keep on rockin’ out. We ended the tour watching the International Space Station flying overhead, thanks to Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik, who is always in-the-know about such things.
On Saturday afternoon, Dr. Andy Jones took us behind the scenes at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, sharing his favorite exhibits and stories, then showing us the collections of bird specimens in the museum’s basement. Looking at passenger pigeons, ivory-billed woodpeckers, Eskimo curlews, and a cackling goose collected by John James Audubon gave us all goose bumps. Andy’s knowledge of bird taxonomy and morphology filled our brains to bursting with fascinating information.
Sunday morning we finished things off with a sweet trip to the F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm, where we hand-fed birdseed to black-capped chickadees and looked at sparrows through Swarovski’s amazing new BTX spotting scope. At Cuyahoga Valley National Park, we found a rare northern shrike, which was species #269 for Jen’s Big Year in Cuyahoga County, Ohio!
What a weekend! Let’s do it again!
Check Out Our Gallery!
If you missed the Rendezvous, or if you want to recapture the spirit of those fun-filled days, you’ll want to check out pictures taken by the BWD staff and attendees.
We shared Alan Dolan's birthday cake the first night of the Rendezvous! Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
Flocking for grub on the first night of the Rendezvous at Burntwood Tavern. Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik introduces himself to RR participants at the Burntwood Tavern in Brecksville, Ohio, at the opening night of the event. Photo by Emily Jones.
Linda Easter and Jessica Melfi chat before dinner at the Burntwood Tavern. Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
Cleveland-area birding expert Jen Brumfield tells RR participants what to expect on Lake Erie in winter at the opening night event. Photo by Emily Jones.
Temperatures were brisk, but the number of red-breasted mergansers was mind-blowing at Sims Park. Photo by Emily Jones.
Jeff and Carol Sole look for birds at Sims Park. Photo by Emily Jones.
Jessica Melfi and Angie Anderson-Beach search for birds at Sims Park on Lake Erie. Photo by Emily Jones.
One of thousands of red-breasted mergansers spotted at Lake Erie. Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
Wendy Swanson at Sims Park in Euclid. Photo by Emily Jones.
BWD Marketing Director Sarah Clark on one of her first birding adventures. Photo by Emily Jones.
Opportunities for digiscoping were abundant. Photo by Emily Jones.
Our first stop, at Sims Park in Euclid, was chilly, but the birding was good! We were happy to be there! Photo by Emily Jones.
Local birding guide Jen Brumfeld blew us away with her ability to spot birds. Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
Birding is fine on Lake Erie in winter--even in downtown Cleveland.
Photo by Emily Jones.
BWD Managing Editor Dawn Hewitt showing off her second-hand burnt orange Marmot jacket!
One of five (or maybe six) snowy owls we saw on Lake Erie. Photo by Bill Thompson, III.
Attendees doing the life bird dance for the snowy owl! Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
Heidi Mass, left, and the rest of us got a great look at a pomarine jaeger at this spot! Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
And off we go to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame! Photo by Emily Jones.
Sunset outside the Rock 'n' roll Hall of Fame. The building was designed by I.M. Pei. Photo by Emily Jones.
Buster Banish is not only a great birding guide, he's an amazing docent at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. He gives a great tour! Photo by Bill Thompson, III.
John Lennon's acoustic guitar, adorned with his own sketch. Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is awesome. Photo by Emily Jones.
We watched the International Space Station pass right over our heads! Photo by Emily Jones.
Phragmites were abundant, especially at the Lorain Impoundment, but that's where we found snow bunting and common redpolls! Photo by Emily Jones.
We were spittin' distance from three common redpolls at the Lorain Impoundment! Photo by Bill Thompson, III.
Buster Banish served as a local birding guide and our docent at the rock Hall of Fame. He also recommended several outstanding restaurants that gave us the taste of Cleveland. Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
Dr. Andy Jones, curator of the ornithology collection at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, shows us the black-capped chickadees he is researching.
Dr. Andy Jones, curator of the ornithology collection at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, shows us the black-capped chickadees he is researching. Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
Dr. Andy Jones, curator of the ornithology collection at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, show us a brown pelican. Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
A bilaterally gynandromorphic northern cardinal is preserved forever in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
BWD Managing Editor Dawn Hewitt goes over the checklist. Photo by Emily Jones.
Wendy Clark of BirdLife International and BT3 perform a tune. Boy, can that girl sing! Photo by Emily Jones.
BWD Events Coordinator Emily Jones has the birds eating out of her hands! Photo by Jessica Melfi.
At the F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm, black-capped chickadees ate out of our hands! Jessica Melfi waits and hopes. Photo by Emily Jones.
BT3 attempts to attract birds with seed and nesting material (but not much nesting material!). Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
Is there a screech-owl in that hole? Photo by Emily Jones.
Looking for a screech-owl at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Fail. But we had great looks at common merganser! Photo by Emily Jones.
Bridge at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Photo by Dawn Hewitt.
Rock & Roll Rendezvous
November 30 - December 3, 2017
Hog Island, ME
During the event we saw a total of 72 species. Check out the official checklist, available in PDF format.
