My name is Richard “Buster” Banish and I have been a Gates Mills resident since 2001. I LOVE living in the village, especially due to the abundance of wildlife! I have been a birder for more than 35 years. A birder is different from a birdwatcher because a birder looks FOR birds and a birdwatcher looks AT birds. I was taken by my wife’s Aunt Birdie for my first birdwalk sometime back in the 80’s. After one venture, I was hooked!

I started by attending the Audubon Spring Series Bird Walks and that progressed into weekend explorations for birds. Travel to a new place meant seeing a batch of different birds. I had many mentors along the way who were willing to share their knowledge and teach me what they knew.

I taught in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District for 38 years and each year I shared my love of birds with my students and brought a few of them along with me to the Spring Audubon walks. In 2019, I decided to expand the birding experience with my students at East Clark School in Collinwood and started an afterschool club called the Bird Nerds. I recruited students with good grades and those who would benefit from the club. We met every Tuesday after school to learn about birds and went on several outings to practice using binoculars and to learn to identify different species. The club had 15 dedicated members that first year. A few birding friends donated funds as did the GPD Group and the Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland so we could go on field trips that first year. 

I asked Patterson’s Fruit Farm if they might be willing to donate some apples for the students to snack on during our Bird Nerd meetings after school. They agreed and have been donating apples and baked goodies to the club every week for the past five years.

     

Over the years we have received support from numerous local birding groups as well as local businesses and individual donors. These generous gifts allow the students to have branded Bird Nerd clothing to wear on outings; provide coats, hats, gloves to wear in bad weather; backpacks and water bottles; cover the cost of buses for field trips and for meals along the way. 

The Nerds have been interviewed on television and spoken to other birding groups throughout the area. They are excellent birders and help teach others about birding and to love nature. Two of the students earned scholarships to go to a summer birding camp in New Jersey. We have birded at more than 75 parks/wild areas in northern Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Michigan.

Even though I retired from teaching last year, I continue to go to East Clark School every week to teach students about birds. Each year there are 10-15 new students involved in the club. Several of the original Bird Nerds still bird with me regularly and help teach the younger students about birds. 

I also visit other schools to teach students about birds. I recently spent an afternoon at Gates Mills Elementary School talking about owls to prep the kids for their upcoming owl pellet dissections – it was so much fun. 

I am a lucky guy – I get to go to beautiful places outdoors with enthusiastic kids who are so excited to spend time in nature- something that many of us take for granted.

John Lillich, his wife, Carol and I lead the Gates Mills Spring Audubon Birds Walks. If you are interested in learning more about birds and spending time with others who love birds, I encourage you to join us at 7:30 am on Sunday mornings in April and May. We visit a variety of locations. This is the schedule for this year:  Call Buster to verify locations 216.316.1621

End of Skyline Drive

The John & Carol Lillich Meadows

Dodd Road

Willoughby Hills

11340 Caves Road 

Chester Township, (north of Mulberry)

16780 Savage Road

Bainbridge Township

(Location subject to change)

 37125 Fairmount Blvd., Hunting Valley

Use entrance on Fairmount Rd

3160 Chagrin River Road (Corner of River Road and Shaker Blvd.)

Park next to garages on the right side of the property.

(Location subject to change)

37125 Fairmount Blvd., Hunting Valley

Use entrance on Fairmount Rd.