Correspondent photo / Bill Koch Former Mill Creek MetroParks Naturalist Ray Novotny of Cornersburg gives a talk Tuesday evening at the Austintown Senior Center on 50 state birds. It was the monthly meeting of the Audubon Society / Mahoning Valley.

AUSTINTOWN — Fifty was the magic number on Tuesday as approximately 50 people came to the Austintown Senior Center to hear a talk by former Mill Creek MetroParks Naturalist Ray Novotny on “Fifty State Birds… And More.”

Novotny’s talk was for the monthly meeting of the Audubon Society / Mahoning Valley.

Society President Jason Short of East Palestine opened by highlighting the events of the past month. He said the society hosted a Birdwalk at Poland Township Park on “pretty much the coldest day of the year” and a bird count known as a Birdathon that Short said “could have been renamed the BRRRdathon” because of similarly frigid temperatures. He said considering the weather, both events had respectable attendance.

Novotny came out wearing a safari jacket and fedora given to him by Bert Szabo, a naturalist in Cuyahoga Falls who died three years ago at age 101.

He said that while the bald eagle has been considered the nation’s symbol throughout U.S. history, it only officially became the national bird on Christmas Eve.

“That got me thinking about birds and symbols,” Novotny said, which became the inspiration for the program.

He pointed out that while almost all states have an official state bird, they originated in a variety of ways, from governors and legislators to children’s groups and garden clubs. He noted a large number were adopted in the late-1920’s to mid-1930’s.

The cardinal is the state bird of Ohio, but that is not much of a distinction, considering it is also the state bird for Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, making it the most common choice.

Besides seven cardinals, six states chose the meadowlark (Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon and Wyoming) and five states chose the northern mockingbird (Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas).

Novotny offered some of his favorite origin stories. The Colorado legislature picked the lark bunting “because it’s black and white, which can save on printing costs.”

More poignant was Utah, which surprisingly picked the California gull. Novotny said when the Mormons arrived in 1848, a swarm of crickets threatened to decimate the crops, which would have resulted in starvation. However, the California gull likes eating large insects, and “they came in and saved the day,” earning the gratitude of the settlers and their descendants.

California’s state bird is the California quail. Three states — Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin — have the robin as their state bird.

Novotny listed official and unofficial birds of U.S. territories and various countries around the world. He also presented Ohio’s state flower — the carnation, which was prized by President William McKinley — as well as the state reptile (black racer snake), and even the state pet, which is the shelter animal.

This was Youngstown resident Emily Greve’s first time attending an Audubon Society / Mahoning Valley meeting.

“I like birds, and it’s nice to be around like-minded individuals. Ray is a local naturalist icon and it’s always great to learn from him,” said Greve, a Mill Creek MetroParks educator.

Tony Belfast of Canfield, like Novotny, is a former Mill Creek MetroParks naturalist. He said he enjoyed Novotny’s lecture and added, “He always comes up with a new twist to make it interesting.”