It’s Better Late Than Never as Buzzards Come Home to Roost

The buzzards took their time Friday in making their annual return to Hinckley, but the first buzzard was finally spotted in the afternoon.

Park officials speculated that temperatures in the 30s put off a morning return to the Hinckley Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks.

“It would be a big trauma for the city if they don’t show up,” park ranger Jan Hoover said as she waited for word from Capt. Roger Lutz, the official buzzard spotter.

Lutz later relayed word to the ranger station that he had sighted the “lead bird” at 2:23 p.m.

“They were just trying to keep us in suspense,” Hoover said. “Back in the early ‘80s, they came in as late as 4:30 p.m. or 5 p.m.”

Lutz made the official sighting at 8:40 a.m. last year and at 6:32 a.m. in 1989. The buzzards were not spotted in 1988 until 12:02 p.m.

Hoover said that about 200 people gathered to watch the birds return. Crowds of up to 40,000 people have attended recent Buzzard Sunday festivities, and she said a similar turnout was possible this Sunday, depending on the weather.

The buzzards have been returning to Hinckley since 1819. Park officials said that since 1957 the return has been on March 15, with the exception of the 1984 leap year.

About 75 buzzards normally return to Hinckley each year; it is not known exactly where they go in the winter.