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HINCKLEY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — While some look to groundhogs, red winged blackbirds or pitchers and catchers reporting to camp, many Northeast Ohioans rely on the venerable turkey vulture as the official harbinger of spring.
A generous crowd of Hinckley Buzzard Day stalwarts and first-timers gathered early March 15 at the Cleveland Metroparks Hinckley Reservation Buzzard’s Roost to be among the first to sight this year’s first official Hinckley buzzards.
And they waited … and waited … and waited.
“They are waiting for the updrafts and the sun – we expect them in the next half-hour or so,” said Metroparks Naturalist and Official Buzzard Spotter, Foster Brown, at roughly 8:50 a.m. “They can fly, but they like to soar on the updrafts and it carries the smell of carrion.”
For the record, the first kettle of seven buzzards finally arrived on the scene at 10:34 a.m. Along the way, visitors gained a wealth of buzzard knowledge from Brown. For instance, a group of turkey vultures in flight is known as a kettle, a group in a tree is called a committee, and a committee (or a kettle) on the ground is a wake. Got all that?
“We like to take in all that is quirky and wonderful in Ohio, and this is part of ecology and is so important for kids to learn,” said Tracey Bell, who recently moved to Ohio from Michigan with her husband, Gary. She said they were happy to now add scanning the Northeast Ohio skies for buzzards to their list of quirky Ohio festival experiences – like watching mashed potato wrestling at the Matua Potato Festival.
“This is wonderful for the community, even if a buzzard may not be my first choice for a friend,” Bell said. “Have you seen their diet?”
The Bells and Dayton resident Tom Girz – a Lorain native in town visiting his friend, Matt Kiedrowski, of Brunswick – were among this year’s Buzzard Day first-timers who traveled the farthest for the event. Carissa Hudock and her son Dorian, 3, were also freshman Buzzard Day attendees, with Dorian coming more prepared than most with his own set of binoculars.
“I grew up in Missouri and we have lived in this area for a little while,” Hudock said. “We always heard about it, and we see a lot of [buzzards] at our house so we decided to come.”

The first buzzards to return to the Cleveland Metroparks Hinckley Reservation arrived at 10:43 a.m. March 15.Brian Lisik
Greg Kalbrunner, of Medina, said he recently took up the hobby of birding and was making his first return trip to Buzzard Day “since I was a kid; probably 30 years.” Tim Secrist and his girlfriend, Jennifer Kuhn also made their first pilgrimage to Buzzard Day this year, although Secrist said his late mother sent him every Hinckley Buzzard Day news report for years when he lived out of town.
This year’s gathering also showcased the ingenuity of some buzzard fans, like regular Buzzard Day attendees and and Hinckley residents Mark and Lori Manthey, who brought a festival food truck of sorts. Actually, a camping stove under a picnic umbrella and one volunteer employee, friend and “master egg scrambler” Dave Hoffman, of Strongsville.
“What gave me the idea? I was hungry,” Manthey said of his remarkably well organized operation, which he dubbed (perhaps right on the spot) The Old Buzzards. “And I think the sausage helps bring [the buzzards] in.”
The Pavlik family of Hinckley – Matt, Erica and their children Hailey, 8, Jacob, 6, Luke, 4 and Tyler, 2 – have made Buzzard Day an annual family event for the past three years. Although, Matt said, catching sight of the first buzzard of the year is always a gamble.
“Two years ago when we came, we waited for 45 minutes and decided to take a walk,” he said. “The first one came in before we got back.”
Erica said experiencing nature firsthand is invaluable to the kids.
“We see them in our backyard so we said, let’s go to Buzzard Day,” Erica said. “I like that they are learning the history of it. We home school, so as we are learning about it, we live right here so we can see it.”
The history of Buzzard Day officially goes back to 1958, although turkey vultures – locally known as buzzards although not at all related to European buzzards, which more resemble hawks than, well, turkeys – have likely lived in the area for eons. The birds return from their fall migration each spring and nest in the high, rocky ledges of the Hinckley Reservation.
Local folklore, however, claims that buzzards first came to town after the Great Hinckley Hunt in the winter of 1818. The hunt saw nearly 600 local men gather to eradicate the area of wolves and other predators that were wreaking havoc on livestock, leaving behind a veritable smorgasbord of carrion for hungry local buzzards.
Whatever story you buy, the annual gathering has come to mean much more to participants than a science lesson or a visit to the park on a brisk, late-winter morning.
“I think my favorite thing is the tradition,” said Metroparks Brecksville Nature Center Manager, Min Keung. “You catch up with people and it is the joy of spring in Hinckley.”
That joy continues at the Hinckley Chamber of Commerce’s 67th annual Buzzard Sunday event, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 24 at Hinckley Preparatory Academy, 1586 Center Road. Pushed back a week from its traditional first-Sunday-after-Buzzard-Day date this year due to St. Patrick’s Day falling on Sunday, Buzzard Sunday kicks off with a pancake breakfast followed by a craft show, carnival, a visit from a live buzzard and more. For more information, visit hinckleyohchamber.com/buzzard-day/.
“For me, the best part is seeing the look on kids’ faces when they see a live buzzard,” said Hinckley Chamber President Melinda Mallari of the Hinckley Chamber. “And also seeing the adults’ faces.”
Read more news from the Brunswick Sun.
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