Editor’s Note: Having admired the most glorious photos of colorful and unusual birds visiting the Lake Erie region of Northwest Ohio taken by Dianne Rozak of
The Beacon
In springtime, visitors to the Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) are eager to enjoy The Biggest Week in American Birding. First-timers often discover they don’t have to go very far to see a wide range of colorful migrating birds.
In fact, the birding can be excellent right around the BSBO headquarters nestled in the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area on the Lake Erie shoreline.
Located at 13551 W. State Rt. 2 in Oak Harbor the Village of Oak Harbor is just to the south it’s easy to find with the highway signage.
Here are some birding hotspots shared by BSBO members and birding experts.
The birds though will be quite real. The birds will still come, the birds don t know there s a pandemic. The birds don t care about borders or closures or vaccinations. The birds will still come, said Kaufman.
And where there are birds, there will be birdwatchers, spreading out around the region and answering the call of nature.
Although spots on the Magee Marsh Boardwalk have been limited this year there are still plenty of spots around the area to check out migrating birds. Northwest Ohio has become such an iconic destination for bird watchers all over the world; it s right here in our backyard,” said Kim High, with Metroparks Toledo. There are birds that we don t normally see that if you get into your birding you can actually find in the Metroparks in Toledo.
The Beacon
One of the most glamorous birds visiting Northwest Ohio each spring is the sandhill crane. It is a topic Dr. Richard Beilfuss, President & CEO of the International Crane Foundation, will focus on during the Biggest Week in American Birding on May 6-10. Sandhill cranes often visit the Toledo Metropark’s Howard Marsh, just west of Magee Marsh Wildlife Area. (Photo by D’Arcy Patrick Egan)
The Biggest Week in American Birding (BWIAB), hosted by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO), will present a virtual program on May 6-10 because of Covid-19 restrictions. The BSBO will feature an extensive list of workshops and virtual experiences at many of the birding hotspots around northwest Ohio.