Once the pretty summer songbirds have departed for points south, what do birders do?  They put on another layer of cloths and go looking for waterfowl – Ducks, Geese, Swans, Loons, Grebes & Gulls.  This presentation showcases these hardy visitors along with Hawks, Owls and smaller birds like Snow Buntings, Larkspurs and Kinglets.  If you don’t like cold weather, ask about ‘car birding,” a favorite alternative to walking when wind chills plummet! 

Matt Valencic has been interested in birds and other wildlife most of his life but did not start photographing them until 2006.  He retired in 2015 and shortly thereafter met some members of the Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland at an event.  He felt an immediate bond with them and their mission of education and land stewardship. His catalog of bird pictures soon became the content of several presentations about the birds of NE Ohio and their habitats. 

Today Matt helps direct the education outreach of this chapter and is a member of the Sanctuary Committee and the Board of Trustees.  His favorite pastime is pursuing and photographing birds in Geauga County, in the hope of better pictures for his talks.  He and his wife Patti live on an 8-acre ‘hobby farm’ in Geauga County with their two horses and a large vegetable garden.  They have 3 adult children and 9 grandchildren, and he is always grooming those grandkids into future bird watchers, gardeners and nature nerds.