GEAUGA PARK DISTRICT For more information, contact the park district…

August 29, 2013

GEAUGA PARK DISTRICT

For more information, contact the park district at 440-286-9516 or visit www.geauga

parkdistrict.org.

It’s All In The Family

The West Woods Nature Center has gone intergenerational to showcase the diverse, nature-inspired artwork of John, Mark and Rebecca Corrigan – a Russell Township man, his son and his granddaughter.

Three Generations of the Corrigan Family will be on display through Oct. 21 in The West Woods Nature Center, 9465 Kinsman Road in Russell Township. Admission is free.

This unique show became a reality after some truly creative give-and-take between Geauga Park District and John Corrigan. Visitors will see numerous styles and techniques throughout the gallery spaces.

Rebecca, 23, is a master still life charcoal drawer and a black and white and color photographer. She is in her final year at Northern Arizona University, majoring in parks, recreation and tourism.

Mark, 52, thinks totally out of the box with his highly complex and imaginative pencil drawings. His shown artwork ranges from his college days at Cleveland State University to a variety of full color subjects he has rendered in the ensuing years for clients and friends. Mark is in creative sales with Downing Enterprises in Copley, Ohio.

Finally, John began his creative life at 10 and continues; he is now 79. He paints outdoor scenes and structures, mainly in watercolor and pen drawing. Like Mark, John was also in creative sales, with several nationally known companies. He and his wife of 56 years, Nikki, live in Russell Township.

Spider Spectacular

Celebrate everyone’s favorite eight-legged, silk-spinning, insect-eating super critters at Spider Spectacular taking place Sept. 7 from 1-4 p.m. at The West Woods Nature Center, 9465 Kinsman Road in Russell Township.

Visitors will enjoy fun crafts, hands-on activities and live animals. Naturalist Nora Sindelar will make a special presentation at 2 p.m. Registration is not required.

Whirling Birdies

Witness the annual phenomenon of hundreds of chimney swifts swirling tornado-like and then plummeting into an old chimney en route to South America an unforgettable spectacle by all accounts.

The Bird Tornado Strikes Again on Sept. 4 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the gazebo on Chardon Square Gazebo and Sept. 11 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the gazebo on Burton Square.

Chimney swifts are neotropical migrants, meaning they winter in the south and summer in the north. Though they once nested in hollow trees, Americas settlement and urbanization quickly introduced them to more convenient shelter chimneys, where they can use their glue-like saliva to adhere stick nests to the inner walls.

After nestlings have fledged into flyers by mid-summer, swifts patrol the skies by day and gather at dusk to room communally in uncapped chimneys of older homes, as well as institutional chimneys with incinerators rendered defunct by the Clean Air Act of 1972. Among popular local spots are Berkshire High School in Burton and Park Elementary School, the church on the square and Chardon High School in Chardon.

Migration always takes place in September and early October. At sundown, local swifts are joined by travelers seeking a migratory motel for the night. All together the birds gradually swell in the sky, swirling in ever-tightening circles and emitting twittering notes until, one by one, they begin to swiftly drop into the chimney.

Chimneys like these often hold hundreds of swifts for the night. Previous programs through Geauga Park District have counted upwards of 500 birds making their way in noisy for a time, then silent as they rest up for the next leg of their journey to Peruvian wintering grounds.

All ages are welcome; registration is not required.