HINCKLEY TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Dozens of buzzards and throngs of spectators migrated to Hinckley Township on Sunday (March 17) to mark the beginning of spring and the 62nd anniversary of Buzzard Day.
The legend of the Great Hinckley Hunt began in 1818, when more than 400 men gathered to hunt the predators that were feasting on the settlers’ livestock. The fresh kills attracted flocks of buzzards.
The tradition -- if not the hunting -- continues to this day.
In 1957, the press began reporting that the buzzards returned to Hinckley each year on March 15. On that Sunday, the 17th -- like this year coinciding with St. Patrick’s Day -- 9,000 visitors showed up to greet the birds. Buzzard enthusiasts have loyally returned year after year.
This year, a full schedule of family-oriented activities provided interest and entertainment for the guests.
Following the first official sighting of a Hinckley buzzard at 7:58 a.m. on Friday the 15th, buzzard watchers traveled to Hinckley Reservation near the corner of Bellus and State roads to view the turkey vultures wheeling above the rock cliffs.
According to Min Kirby, manager of the Brecksville Nature Center in the Cleveland Metroparks, by noon on Sunday, more than 12 turkey vultures -- buzzards -- had been spotted.
In Brongers Park in Hinckley, Taryn Leach and Karen Sandstorm, both volunteers at the Medina County Raptor Center, held live vultures on their gloved hands so that people could get a close-up look at the birds. Leach held Paris, a vulture that had been pelted with rocks and sticks by children in Cleveland in 2008. The bird suffered permanent brain damage and is unable to return to the wild.
Paris shares a large enclosure at the Raptor Center with Matilda, which, according to Sandstrom, was abandoned by its parents in 1998. Matilda imprinted on humans and is also unable to join her wild relatives. They are both fed dead mice, rats, squirrels and venison -- “the smellier the better” -- and are used to educate the public at events like Buzzard Day.
According to Joann King’s recently published “Medina County: Coming of Age,” that first Hinckley hunt went like this:
“On Christmas Eve, 1818, armed with rifles, pitchforks, and clubs,” more than 400 men “slowly moved towards the center of Hinckley Township, intent on killing anything with four legs. It was mild chaos, but in the end, the hunters killed 17 wolves, 21 bears, and 300 deer, while wounding only two fellow hunters.
“It is said the buzzards first appeared on the scene after the carnage and continue to return each year, hoping for another feast, or so the legend goes.”
After getting their fill of buzzard watching, visitors had the opportunity to eat pancakes at Hinckley Elementary School, visit the Hinckley Historical Society, view performers from O’Malley’s Irish Dance Academy, watch Outback Ray’s Animal Show, eat hot dogs to benefit firefighters, or take part in a Pet Contest.