The Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District is offering a winter backyard conservation bird hike for the first time in February 2014.
The event is set for Saturday, Feb. 22, from 1-2:30 p.m.
The bird hike will be held at Pickerington Ponds Metro Park. We will meet at Glacier Knoll picnic area accessed off Bowen Road.
Pickerington Ponds Metro Park is west of Olde Pickerington Village. Take Wright Road out of Downtown, past the park office, to the intersection with Bowen Road. Turn right onto Bowen and Glacier Knoll picnic area is just to the north on your left, maybe a quarter mile. There is ample parking, and restrooms are available.
The Arrowhead Trail that we will hike leaves from the parking lot and is an easy, level grass trail 1.7 miles in length. The entire event will be outdoors, so dress for the weather, including good hiking boots. The event will be cancelled if the temperature is 20 degrees or less.
There is a large observation deck that we will utilize to oversee the wetland site. Please bring binoculars and a bird field guide if you have them. Golden Guides are small and inexpensive. Peterson field guides are more extensive and very common as well.
We will discuss wetlands, winter bird species that we typically see, winter bird feeding options in your own back yard and general backyard conservation concepts, and introduce you to the National Audubon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is sponsored by both the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Data collected is used to track bird health, numbers and locations. The event attracts both amateurs and professional bird enthusiasts from across the country.
The SWCD event is free, but we would appreciate a call to the Fairfield SWCD office at 740-653-8154 by Wednesday, Feb. 19 for a head count. We will limit group size to 40 to ensure it is manageable for the hike and limit disruptiveness.
Pickerington Ponds is home to one of Franklin County’s largest remaining natural wetlands and contains wetlands, woods and fields. More than 400 acres are designated as a state nature preserve. The park is also a designated Ohio Important Birding Area by the Audubon Society, an organization dedicated worldwide to bird conservation and habitat preservation.
