Join hundreds to search the skies for the annual buzzard watch at the Annual Return of the Buzzards!
The buzzards are flying back from their winter southern roosts, which means spring is right around the corner!
Experience the annual rite of spring, as the world-famous buzzards return to the Buzzard Roost in Hinckley Reservation on March 15.
March 15th is known as the ‘Ides of March,’ but is also internationally-known as the day the buzzards return to their summer roost at Hinckley Reservation’s Buzzard Roost.
Grab the binoculars and search the skies with Cleveland Metroparks Official Buzzard Spotter, Bob Hinkle, Cleveland Metroparks Chief of Outdoor Education as he searches the early morning sky for the first turkey vultures to return for the year. The search begins at 7 a.m. and continues until the first buzzard returns to the roost.
Buzzard enthusiasts from far and wide, young and old alike, armed with cameras and, most importantly, a sense of humor, flock to the Buzzard Roost in Hinckley Reservation to await the official spotting of the season’s first buzzard (turkey vulture) – – but, just remember - “no one spots a buzzard ‘til the ‘Official Buzzard Spotter’ spots one first.”
Like the buzzards, visitors have been returning to witness their arrival since the first Buzzard Sunday in 1957. On Buzzard Sunday, naturalists are on hand at the Buzzard Roost to answer questions and share stories from bygone "buzzard days."
In 1957 – 53 years ago, Walter Nawalaniec, ranger for Cleveland Metropolitan Park System (now known as Cleveland Metroparks), told a newspaper reporter that on March 15 he had witnessed for six straight years the turkey vultures returning to Hinckley Reservation. The Cleveland Press printed the story on February 15, 1957, and one month later on March 15 at 2 p.m. the first buzzard was spotted by 9,000 buzzard enthusiasts. Since then, over a hundred-thousand visitors have witnessed the return of the buzzards to Hinckley Reservation.
Buzzard Roost is located in Hinckley Reservation, at the corner of West Drive and State Road in Hinckley Township.
The East Coast Vulture Festival is a celebration of vultures-these misunderstood birds that in our culture have so often been associated with sinister scenes of death and gothic horror. The East Coast Vulture Festival is an afternoon and evening of fun, entertainment and education, which celebrates vultures with educational presentations, music, arts & crafts, and dance and provides an opportunity to enlighten the public on the beneficial role of vultures in maintaining a clean and healthy environment. This is a unique event, the only festival honoring vultures on the entire eastern seaboard of the United States.
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