North Coast Nature Festival April 23, 2010

Friday, April 23- 7L30 p.m.
Saturday, April 24- 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. & Evening Presentation 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 25- 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Rocky River Nature Center
Rocky River Reservation- North Olmsted

FREE!

Nothing says spring quite like April showers and the rebirth of flowers, leaves on trees, bird migration, and Cleveland Metroparks “North Coast Nature Festival.”

Celebrate the earth's reawakening at this free weekend festival for nature lovers, featuring "The Nature & Art Show" with wildlife art exhibits, organizational exhibits and other nature-minded vendors exhibiting and selling on Saturday and Sunday including: Live Animal programs with Lake Erie Nature Science Center – Saturday Only and Back to the Wild – Sunday Only, Birds from Behind, Butterfly’s Magnetic Jewelry, Cuyahoga Astronomical Association, Dodd Camera, Eagle Optics, Earthart Studios, Institute of the Great Outdoors, K. Berkheimer Photography, Lou Gaeta Photography, National Wildlife Federation, Niko’s Naturals, Nature Paintings – Jackie Hixon, North Ohio Association of Herpetologists, Northeast Ohio Sierra Club, Pens, Etc., Slate Paintings – Anne Frost, SW Camera Club, Western Cuyahoga Audubon, and Western Reserve Wild Ones.

The event also features guest speakers, hikes for all ages, live animal presentations, a digital photography scavenger hunt, musical entertainment, a birding field trip (off-site, pre-registration required), children’s activities, EarthWords Nature Shop t-shirt stamping, and more. The festivities take place on both Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – plus, a special evening presentation Friday night and a night hike on Saturday.



Friday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Past, Present and Future – Richard Crossley
A story of past lessons learned from days growing up in the wild British birding scene, from travels around the world to living in Cape May. Told in a Yorkshire brogue through a Camera lens that loves color and art. But what of birding in the future – perhaps this will change your thoughts!

This year’s featured speaker is internationally-known birder, photographer and author Richard Crossley. Crossley is a Yorkshireman who, growing up, lived for playing sport. At the age of 10 he first went birding with his schoolteacher – this began a lifelong love affair with birding. By 21 he had hitchhiked over 100,000 miles chasing birds across Britain and Europe. After graduating with a degree in Environmental Sciences, he made his first trip to the USA and fell in love with Cape May. He now lives there with his wife Debra, and daughters Sophie and Sam.

In 2002, Richard started working on “The Shorebird Guide” published by Houghton Mifflin. The unique photographs required for this book were unavailable. Getting these photos became Richard’s mission and has resulted in his love and obsession for photography, book design and understanding how we look at birds. Richard’s father is an abstract artist and many of his influences can be seen in Richard’s work.



Saturday, April 24 Schedule

8 a.m. Bird Hike with Richard Crossley
9 a.m. A Not So Big Day Bird Competition
10 a.m. Photography Hike (Cleveland Metroparks Photography Club)
10:30 a.m On the River – Fishes of the Rocky River: Electrofishing Demonstration & Fish Collection
10:30 a.m. Trailside Theater – Live Animal Program
10:30 a.m. Pond Dipping for Kids
11 a.m. Classroom Presentation – Romancing the Eagle (Harvey Webster)
11 a.m. Cleveland Metroparks Rangers Bike Tour to Berea Falls (Meet at Lagoon Picnic Area)
11:30 a.m Family Bird Walk
11:30 a.m Trailside Theater – Musical Fun
12:30 p.m. Classroom Presentation – Fishes of the Rocky River (Mike Durkalec)
1 p.m. Trailside Theater – Live Animal Program
1:30 p.m. Amphibian Hike
2 p.m. Classroom Presentation – Crossley Unplugged (Richard Crossley)
2 p.m. Pond Dipping for Kids
2:30 p.m. Trailside Theater – Musical Fun
3 p.m. Family Wildflower Walk
3:30 p.m. Trailside Theater – Live Animal Program
3:30 p.m. Classroom Presentation – Container Gardening (Pebbles Bush & Tim Peters)
7 p.m Wetlands and Amphibians hike – registration required
8 p.m Star Party – Celebrating the International Year of Solar Astronomy

BIRDING THE NORTH COAST
Saturday, April 24 • 6 a.m. – 5 p.m.
$40 (includes transportation, stop at the nature festival, leadership, lunch, and snacks).

Join local birders Ken Gober and Bill Deininger for a day-long exploration of some of the best birding hot spots in Greater Cleveland, including: Headlands Beach State Park in Lake County and Sandy Ridge Reservation in Lorain County. We hope to see a wave of colorful Neotropical migrants that includes Prothonotary and Black-throated Green Warblers, flycatchers, gnatcatchers, Blue-headed Vireos, and more. Red-headed Woodpeckers, Sandhill Cranes, and Bald Eagles are all possibilities on this full day in the field.

At 3:30 p.m. we'll stop at Rocky River Nature Center to enjoy an hour at the "North Coast Nature Festival." Binoculars required. Spotting scopes highly recommended. Space is limited to 16. Registration required and begins April 1st; to register, call 216-341-1704.



Sunday, April 25 Schedule

Sunrise to Noon Bird Banding – back of nature center
7:30 a.m. Bird Hike
10 a.m Photography Hike (Cleveland Metroparks Photography Club)
10:30 a.m. Trailside Theater – Live Animal Program
10:30 a.m. Pond Dipping for Kids
11 a.m. Classroom Presentation – Beautiful Birds & Butterflies of the Emerald Necklace
(Judy Semroc & Larry Rosche)
11 a.m. Cleveland Metroparks Rangers Bike Tour to Berea Falls (Meet at Lagoon Picnic Area)
11:30 a.m. Family Bird Walk
11:30 a.m. Trailside Theater – Musical Fun
12:30 p.m. Classroom Presentation – Scoping Out the Night Skies with Telescopes (Jim Cofer)
12:30 p.m Bird Hike with Judy Semroc & Larry Rosche
1 p.m. Trailside Theater – Live Animal Program
1:30 p.m Amphibian Hike
2 p.m. Classroom Presentation – Biodiversity: Is a Requiem in Order? (Dr. Michael Melampy)
2 p.m. Pond Dipping for Kids
2:30 p.m. Trailside Theater – Musical Fun
3 p.m. Family Wildflower Walk
3:30 p.m. Trailside Theater – Live Animal Program
3:30 p.m. Classroom Presentation – Container Gardening (Pebbles Bush & Tim Peters)



Calling All Kids 12 and Under!

Print out and color in the pileated woodpecker coloring page and redeem the finished coloring page at The Big Show Catering concession stand at the North Coast Nature Festival event for a FREE treat! And, redeem the attached coupon to EarthWords Nature Shop and pay only $1 for Cleveland Metroparks coloring book at the North Coast Nature Festival event!



Catering provided by The Big Show catering

PARKING INFO
Visitors can park at Rocky River Nature Center, Cedar Point Picnic Area and Lagoon Picnic Area - shuttle buses will be available.

Rocky River Nature Center is located at 24000 Valley Parkway, between Cedar Point Road and Shepard Lane in Rocky River Reservation in North Olmsted – just off the I-480/Clague Road exit (westbound) and I-480/Columbia Road exit (eastbound).

GPS- Lon -81.88393 Lat 41.40911

Official Website: http://clemetparks.com