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Mt. Airy Forest Spring Migration With Ryan Jorgensen Saturday, May 10th, 2025
Theme: Spring Migration
Location: Mt. Airy Forest
Date: Saturday, May 10th, 2025
Meet: At 8:00 A.M. in the parking lot for Everybody’s Treehouse located on Trail Ridge Road about .4 miles from the Colerain Avenue entrance. See directions below.
Leader: Ryan Jorgensen, (630) 333-2631, jorgensen28ryan@gmail.com
Spring songbird migration will be near peak on this morning and both, residents and migrant songbirds, should abound. Mt. Airy Forest is a beautiful park and the second week of May is a beautiful time of year highlighted by mild temperatures, leafing trees and spring blooms. Our trip leader will be Ryan Jorgensen. Ryan is a skilled birder, an expert level herpetologist and an all-round naturalist. Ryan has a Master’s degree in Biological Science at UC where he specialized in herpetology and is also a board member of our Audubon Society. Ryan plans to take us on a leisurely morning walk through the park as we look for birds. Because of Ryan’s expertise in herpetology, he will have his eyes open for reptiles and amphibians as well, and he may be able to find a few of them for us as well.
Ryan expects us to see (and hear) many species of warblers and many other songbirds including flycatchers, vireos, swallows, thrushes, tanagers, sparrows, grosbeaks, buntings and orioles among others. Hawks, cuckoos, hummingbirds and woodpeckers will be present and even Wild Turkeys are likely.
Mt. Airy Forest is a large City of Cincinnati Park that consists of 1,459 acres of mostly woodlands that range from mature forest, mixed conifer-deciduous woodlands, pine groves, woodland edges, tree lined streams open park land and an arboretum. There are miles of hiking trails and roadsides, making birding access easy. Mt. Airy also acts as a “migrant trap” during spring and fall, as from the sky this large “island” of green stands out from the surrounding urban sea and thus attracts many birds.
Ryan’s plan is to walk and bird around at least a few different sections of the park, beginning at the well-marked and very obvious Everybody’s Tree House. Other than to move from one section of the park to another, this trip will consist mostly of walking. Most of the area is relatively flat and walking will be at a leisurely birders pace. Restrooms are available. If you expect to see birds binoculars are required. Water, a hat, sunscreen and comfortable shoes may make your walk more enjoyable. The trip will break up around noon. Moderate rain will not cancel this trip. If you are unsure contact Ryan. If you have any other questions feel free to contact Ryan.
Directions: Mt. Airy Forest is located at 5083 Colerain Avenue. To get to our meeting spot enter the Park from the main Colerain entrance which is Blue Spruce Road and immediately turn left onto Trail Ridge Road. Go .4 mile down Trail Ridge Road to the well-marked Everybody’s Tree House Parking Lot on your left side. Park and look for our group.
Meeting Place is here: Everybody’s Tree House Parking
Visit the Mt. Airy website at the link below.
https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/cincyparks/visit-a-park/find-a-parkfacility/mt-airy-forest/