Edgewater Hill Blue Birds (4/23/2016)

Saturday, April 23, 2016
A detour from the Edgewater Park hike took us into the Edgewater Hill section of the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood of Cleveland, to see the Blue Birds. Edgewater Hill has access to Edgewater Park and is also on the Atlantic Flyway as a rest stop for migrating birds. For a sense of neighborhood identity, the Blue Bird Project installed 35 blue bird sculptures on utility poles, trees, homes, and commercial buildings in 2007. The project was designed by Mark Reigelman II.
There is even a map to locate all the blue birds, but we did not find four of them!

See the blue bird on the neighborhood café?

The blue bird is under the left window

A blue bird on an apartment building

Two blue birds in a sycamore tree
(the head of the second bird is in the
bottom of the 'V' formed by the branch)

We came to find the blue birds before they were hidden by leaves!

Two blue birds on a utility pole
(note the Kilbane Town on the street sign,
more on this later)

A community garden

See the blue bird on the house?

The blue birds are the size of a large pigeon

Wow! The fragrance from this Viburnum sp was powerful!

Tulips brightened the day

Then we have our local landscaping

Oops! This blue bird lost his tail

A nicely landscaped 1920 Arts & Crafts house

Across the street from 2006 homes of Battery Park

Battery Park is part of Edgewater Hill and is the largest housing development in Cleveland. This urban renewal project was built on the site of the Eveready Battery Company plant, and the powerhouse remains as a community center with retail shops.

More housing in Battery Park

The Battery Park Powerhouse

Statues of Johnny Kilbane as a youth,
as a boxer, and in his later years
(Fighting Heart, 2014, by Rowan Gillespie)

Remember that Herman Avenue was also titled Kilbane Town. Johnny Kilbane lived here beginning in 1910. In 1912 he won the world featherweight boxing championship, and then participated in the longest and largest St Patrick's Day parade in Cleveland history the parade ended W 74th Street near Herman Avenue. He was later to serve a term as State Senator.

Freight trains run past Battery Park regularly

A real bird this time: Charadrius vociferus/Killdeer

Back through the 76th Street "subway" to Edgewater Park.