BY LEW MOORES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP — Participants in this year's Winter Bird Count tallied more than 22,000 birds at 16 Hamilton County parks Sunday. It was the second-highest total in the 26 years the one-day census has been taken.
In 1994, a record 25,000 birds were counted. The count is an indicator of the district's success with wetland habitats and prairie plantings. Two northern harriers, or marsh hawks, were spotted, one of them at Miami Whitewater Forest in Crosby Township, where much of the wetland restoration has taken place.
All 16 county parks were covered this year in the count. Dozens of volunteers counted 22,409 birds. Last year, volunteers counted 20,205.
