Bluebirding 101 or Who Just Moved in My Nestbox
SPEAKER: Darlene Sillick
Ms. Sillick?lives in Powell, Ohio and works as a Senior Executive Assistant for the Chief Information Officer at Cardinal Health in Dublin, Ohio. Over her lunch break, you might find her out monitoring the 14 bluebird boxes on the corporate grounds or rescuing window strikes with birds recovering at her desk. For about 27 years, she has worked with numerous non-profit and nature related organizations sharing her passion for birds and people and she has worked hard on conservation projects around central Ohio. She is co-program chair for Columbus Audubon and an advisor with the Ohio Young Birders Club. She is very passionate; eagerly working with children and also works with people who are differently abled giving them a "wow" moment in the out-of-doors. She is a lifetime member of Ohio Bluebird Society and has given countless bluebird and secondary cavity nesting programs and workshops. She helps to set up trails of boxes across Ohio by writing grants and helping others to set up their trails for success for our native species. She is Franklin County Area Contact for Ohio Bluebird Society (OBS). Part of her success is to make sure monitors understand how to rid their trails of non-native species and the word ?recycling? helps to explain her efforts. She is a 25 year volunteer and former board member for Ohio Wildlife Center. She provides weekly feeding, cleaning and training for birds of prey and gives programs with birds on the glove. She is presently training teen volunteers to handle and care for raptors. Last year she wanted to raise some funds for OWC and she gave programs to a variety of groups and brought in over $1500.00 for the education department and raised awareness for OWC. Around Twin Lakes in Powell, Ohio near the Columbus Zoo, she has worked for almost 22 years to put up nestboxes for variety of secondary cavity species from Purple Martins to Prothonotary Warblers. Seven years ago a new non-profit set up a kayaking group called TAASC Ohio, The Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition of Ohio. It was right next to a Tree Swallow Grid and Purple Martin rig she had set up on Harriott Rd. She organizes Columbus Audubon Birding by Kayak events and Ohio Young Birder?s Club kayaking events and the many clients and families who come out for a few hours of paddling are treated?to seeing birds of all sizes, colors and shapes. If the timing for the young birds is just right, many get to hold young birds while she bands them. She has been banding for 9 years under professors from two universities. She enjoys working with Boy Scouts for either service projects or Eagle Awards as their advisor and she just signed off for Eagle candidate number 22. She writes grants for projects and guides the youth to protect and care for nature through numerous conservation projects. The Columbus Zoo, Dublin Parks and Glacier Ridge Metro Park have shared in these projects. She is also compiler for the Ohio O?Shaughnessy Christmas Bird Count, just completing her 8th year. She just agreed to be chair for Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative Outreach and Education Committee and is excited to venture into conservation projects across the state. While she does not work in the nature related field, she spends her non-working hours giving all she has to help others learn how they can help preserve for our next generations of young conservationists.
Ms. Sillick works at Cardinal Health in Dublin, Ohio and over her lunch break, one might find her monitoring the 14 bluebird boxes on the corporate grounds or rescuing birds who have had window strikes and helping them recover at her desk.
PROGRAM:
Ms. Sillick will teach us about bluebird nestboxes,?what birds use?a nestbox and what we can do to help them be successful. We will also get suggestions about?native plants that will encourage birds to visit our yards.
Participants will have the opportunity to make a nestbox. The cost is $20 per person and may be taken home or donated back to Darlene, as a donation. If you plan to make a nestbox, please bring a cordless drill and Phillips bit to put the nestbox together. And, please RSVP by January 31, 2015 to [email protected] if you plan to build a nestbox so she will have all the materials needed for the group.
