Bird watchers gathered at Veterans Park in Mentor on Nov. 24 to listen for bird calls, spy out avians through binoculars and leave the park cleaner than they found it. The Blackbrook Audubon Society organized the early gathering on the gray, cool morning for its monthly bird walk. Group Secretary Mary Ann Wagner said they spotted 23 species of waterfowl and other birds in the course of their two-hour walk. One of the participants, Mary Huey, said that she has gone bird watching since she was in grade school. She described it as “something you’re just compelled to do.” “I’m always listening, I’m always watching,” she added later. “I do it everywhere I go. I do it on vacations, travel just to do it.” Her daughter, Alison Huey, started coming a few years ago. “As the seasons change, the bird population changes, so there’s always something to look forward to,” she said. Participants in a Blackbrook Audubon Society bird walk look out over Granger Pond at Veterans Park in Mentor on Nov. 24. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald) The group of bird watchers also included volunteers from Caws and Straws. Matt Debelak said that the group combines bird watching and picking up litter at the parks they visit. He started the group around 2018 or 2019. “Picking up litter is obviously not the most glamorous activity out there, so how do I get people to use their free time when they’re not working to come do something like that?” Debelak said. “So I combined it with an activity that seemed to be gaining steam a few years ago, even with younger people – birding.” “The thing about litter and birds is they’re both everywhere,” he added later. “You can really do this anywhere and any time with anyone, and hopefully it builds community but also lets people learn about birds because birds are near and dear to my heart, but also get a chance to see just how much litter is around.” Wagner said the Caws and Straws volunteers picked up four pails of trash. The items included cans, plastic bottles, a sandal, a cooler top, a football and a fishing line. The fishing lines can pose a threat to wildlife because birds and other animals can get tangled after flying into them, Debelak added. Caws and Straws founder Matt Debelak picks up litter at Veterans Park in Mentor during a Nov. 24 Blackbrook Audubon Society bird walk. Debelak’s group Caws and Straws combines picking up litter and bird watching. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald) Wagner said the Blackbrook Audubon Society started coming to Veterans Park for its monthly bird walks in September. “That tied in with the Headlands Birding Festival that was going on, and so we wanted to be somewhere…close to the lakeshore so we could take advantage of the advertising and everything going on with the Headlands Birding Festival,” she said. She added they will stay at Veterans Park until at least August. Then they will decide whether or not to stay for another year. Wagner said that the group meets on the fourth Sunday of each month at 8 a.m., “no matter the weather.” “It’s a nice, relaxing thing to do, and helps build people’s awareness of the natural world,” said Alison Huey. Blackbrook Audubon is also planning to hold its annual Christmas Bird Count next month. The group’s newsletter describes the event as an “early winter bird census” with participants from the United States, Canada and other Western Hemisphere countries, and Blackbrook’s count will be on Dec. 28. More information about the Blackbrook Audubon Society is available at blackbrookaudubon.org. Blackbrook Audubon and Caws and Straws also operate Facebook pages.