If you think birding is for older adults, think again.
"They're like the most diverse animal around,” said Anya Poe.
At just 17, Poe of Elyria is already a veteran birder.
"I started getting pretty into birds when I was eight,” said Poe.
She started by watching birds in the backyard, her mom, Meena Poe, said.
"She wanted to see who was coming to the bird feeders, and she kept a little checklist," said Poe.
Now, the two go birding together.
"It's a great break from the craziness of life," said Poe. "You get out into nature, and you really observe.”
I went along and watched as they volunteered with the Black River Audubon Society’s Purple Martin Conservation Program. It is an effort they helped coordinate.
Purple Martins are North America’s largest swallow. They are aerial insectivores, meaning they feed on insects while flying, and they play a critical role in helping control bug populations.
What makes Purple Martins unique is their unusual dependence on humans, according to the Black River Audubon Society, a relationship that has developed over the course of centuries. Historically, Native Americans hung hollow gourds to attract martins, according to the organization, because of their ability to eat insects. Along with habitat loss, over time, Purple Martins in the Eastern United States became entirely reliant on artificial housing instead of natural tree and rock cavities.
The Poes help monitor the nests in plastic gourds atop a pole that’s lowered down weekly for checks.
This dependence on human stewardship makes Purple Martins unique, and without it, colonies in this region would disappear.
“These are the four babies who are 16 days old," said Anya Poe as she opened the first gourd.
“Oh, my goodness, they’re so cute,” said Kate Pilacky, with the Black River Audubon Society board and the local land manager for Oberlin Preserve.
There are babies from a few days to a few weeks old to check on.
Poe helps change the nests to make sure they're free of parasites. She and her mother gently transfer the babies into a bucket and then dump out the old stuff and replace it with new if necessary.
She also checks the baby birds.
"Looks like it has some under its eyes," she said while closely examining a newly hatched baby. "There are nest mites on them which suck the baby bird’s blood, which if they’re healthy and getting enough food it shouldn’t be a concern.”
They decided to remove the mites just to be on the safe side.
"Good thing we’re checking it today," said Meena Poe.
All the data is recorded and sent to the Purple Martin Conservation Association in Erie, Pennsylvania, to help support the Purple Martin, whose numbers are declining.
"Someone has to care about nature," said Pilacky. "You can’t take it for granted that it’s always going to be here. Someone has to care. Someone has to be good stewards of the land.”
Pilacky said it is inspiring to see the work Anya Poe is doing at such a young age and noted that the birds need human heroes, like Anya.
Oberlin Preserve is one of four Purple Martin nesting sites monitored in Lorain County. The other sites are Lakeview Park in Lorain, Wellington Reservation, and Mill Hollow in Vermilion.
It is the first year of Purple Martin nesting at Oberlin Preserve, and they said it is going great. There are 18 nests with 60 babies after starting with 76 this spring.
The total number of babies across all four nesting sites so far this year is 269 young.
After about an hour of work, it's time for the gourds to go back up. All the moms and dads who've been flying closely by are anxious to return to their nests.
"We had no babies missing, no eggs missing, everyone looked pretty healthy," said Poe. "There were very few nest parasites. So, yeah, a good day!”
Poe is a member of the Ohio Young Birders Club and was selected to be featured in a documentary that highlights Ohio's diverse wildlife and the people working to protect it.
"Ohio Wild at Heart” is expected to premiere in IMAX theaters this fall.
You can visit the Black River Audubon Society's website for more information about the Purple Martin and how you can help support conservation efforts.
