Audubon Ohio Wow Moments

Catherine Hartman – Cincinnati, Ohio
This is more than a WOW moment. This was a life-changing moment. I have grown up in cities and suburbia. I have a degree in zoology, but my knowledge was all book knowledge. If you put me in the woods, I would not know the kinds of things a naturalist knows. I went on a weeklong trip to Montana and bicycled and camped for a week through Glacier National Park and Waterton Park in Canada. The entire week was an eye-opening experience but on the 6th day, I bicycled around a curve and saw a herd of animals. I think (wild) elk. I had NEVER seen such a thing. I stopped and looked and for the first time I had an understanding of what the natural world looked like before we built our cities and suburbs. This truly changed me forever. I soaked in the views and land and wildness experience for the rest of that day and the next day. When I flew back into Cincinnati, I looked out the airplane window and started to cry, thinking –What art we doing to the landscape, to our planet? After that time, I joined Cincinnati Nature Center, began to learn about nature and ecology with naturalists. I learned more from nature walks and observations than I did from my zoology degree courses. We all need a week or more in the real wilderness to have any connection and understanding of what wild areas look like, sound like, feel like. A suburban backyard does not provide the same experience.

Andrea Cook – Pataskala, Ohio
This fall I was walking in my neighborhood when a huge flock of birds flew overhead and landed in the trees all around me. I stood still for about 3-4 minutes just to listen to their unbelievable loud chattering. Then, in an instant, there was complete silence – a few seconds later there was a tremendous whoosh found as they all took flight at virtually the same time. It was an awesome experience.

Greg Cunningham – Columbus, Ohio
I was recently in New York City on business, and had a couple of hours between the end of the conference I was attending and my flight back to Ohio. I took a walk through Central Park, and was enjoying the fall migrants, when I happened up on a group of people looking at a building. I discovered that every one was looking at the nest of celebrity red-tailed hawk Pale Male – and he was perched nearby! It was a real WOW! Moment to see such a celebrity in New York City.

Mary Warren – Oak Harbor, Ohio
For me, WOW moments come when I see the face of a young child light up when they see a bird for the first time. I am fortunate to be a naturalist at Mayee Marsh so I have many opportunities for these wow moments. They never fair to energize and revive me.

Tom Romito – Cleveland, Ohio
About 30 people participated in the Whittier Peninsula Walk during the Audubon Ohio State assembly on November 10. During the walk, we saw a Bald Eagle. Many of the participants were seeing a Bald Eagle for the first time, and they were ecstatic. Some said the Eagle was the bird of the day and made the afternoon worthwhile. It was a “WOW Moment” for me to see the excitement on the faces of these Audubon participants!

Paulette Ariss – Columbus, Ohio
When I was 8 years old, my family attended a camp weekend on the Muskingum River. We kids were sleeping in bunk beds and I had the top bunk by the window. I woke up just at sunrise to heavy fog lying over the river, of which I had a great view. All of a sudden, a huge great blue heron came winging out off the fog and flew right past and on up the river! I nearly fell off the bed. I was so excited. That picture is burned into my brain and this many, many years later I can see it like it was yesterday. WOW!

Laura Dornan – Louisville, Ohio
This happened many years ago and it is still with me like it was yesterday. While hiking in Meadowland Trail at Quail Hallow State Park. I saw far ahead of me a very small critter running across the mowed path from the weeds on 1 side to the weeds on the other side. I stood still and watch this small critter as he continued to zig zag up the path in this manner. As he got closer I was very excited to see it looked like a small weasel and I wondered how close he would get before he became aware of me. Well he never did realize I was anything but some obstacle in his path. As he crossed from 1 side of the path, he paused when he realized there was something in his way, with his right front paw resting on top of my left foot! He stood there for several seconds, looking around and then continued his zigzagging up the path. When I returned to the visitor center I looked him up in the manual field guide and learned he was a Least Weasel. I will never forget his foot resting on mine.

Johann Cozart – Columbus, Ohio
I have two. The first involves rounding the corner at my apartment complex and seeing a Cooper’s hawk feasting on a pigeon. It was only five feet from me. Of course he flew with his lunch when he saw me. The second was on an Eco weekend bird walk with Mike Flynn. Six or seven feet from the path were two male hooded warblers on the ground fighting over territory! Mike said we could go back to ___ - we wouldn’t see anything more exciting.

Carol Lyle – New Concord, Ohio
Long ago in 1954, I lived in a house on a rural road outside of Faribault WIN. I was on my front lawn on this beautiful spring afternoon watching my two toddlers rolling down the slight incline of the yard __ and __. Glad to have them safely occupied I laid down on my back under the crabapple tree ringing our yard – resting my pregnant body for a few minutes. I looked up into the trees and noticed constant movement before I took the sight of hundreds of sleek Khaki (sp?), crested birds busy with fruits. I ran for my golden book and ID’d my first Sedar Waxwings!!! Many years latter my grandson came running into the house after a Kayak trip with us! We saw this neat “roller bird.” He looked like a bandit! I showed him a picture of the Waxwings and told him my story of Waxwings.

Louis Fleming – Ashland, Ohio
Learning how to do IBA monitoring the presenters - from Rockey River IBA – were well prepared with handouts, even Cds. I’m excited to go home and present what I’ve learned and helping to implement a monitoring program in Mohican.

Unknown:
My WOW Moment was the sighting of a baldheaded eagle to cap off our fieldtrip to Whittier. This was my first baldheaded eagle in the wild.