Ohio Birders:

Earlier I had sent this post to BirdChat, which has a national /
international audience, to give sources of information for out-of-state
visitors who might be coming here to witness our phenomenal spring
migration. But it occurred to me some of this might also be useful to
people here in Ohio who are unfamiliar with the birding in the Magee Marsh
/ Ottawa NWR area. This is long, so if you already know the area, there's
no reason to read the whole thing.

Northwestern Ohio - specifically the Lake Erie shoreline in the area of
Magee Marsh Wildlife Area and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge - has become
a very popular spring destination for birders. Thousands come here from
outside the area, especially during the first three weeks of May, when the
views of warblers and other migrants can be exceptional.

Visiting birders bring a big boost to the local economy, and this is now
being officially recognized. Through the efforts of Black Swamp Bird
Observatory, May 10th, 2014, has been designated as "Bird Ohio Day" (yes,
that's "bird" as a verb). The resolution establishing this day was passed
by the Ohio Senate and House with strong bipartisan support, and it will be
the centerpiece of a major celebration at Magee Marsh on the 10th. We see
this as another opportunity to promote the importance of habitat
conservation: without the habitat, the birds and birders wouldn't come here.

If you're not familiar with the area at all, there's an overview in this
feature article that I wrote for Birding, the magazine of the American
Birding Association, in 2010: http://www.aba.org/birding/v42n1p38.pdf

The Black Swamp Bird Observatory ( http://www.bsbo.org/ )  (BSBO), which
has its headquarters at the entrance to Magee Marsh, provides many kinds of
free information for visiting birders, including info on birding sites. The
single most famous local site is the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. This
boardwalk winds for almost a mile through a small woodlot between the
marshes and Lake Erie, and great concentrations of migrants can be seen
along its length and along the edges of the adjacent parking lot. For easy
communication about the locations of birds on the boardwalk, numbers are
etched into the railing, so that birders can report things like "The
Worm-eating Warbler is being seen at #20." To find these numbers, it's a
good idea to carry a map that shows their locations; you can pick up such a
map at BSBO, or print out your own from this link:

http://www.bsbo.org/Portals/8/PDFs/Maps/magee_marsh_boardwalk_map_and_text.pdf

An overview map of Magee Marsh can be printed out from this link:
  http://www.bsbo.org/Portals/8/PDFs/Maps/Magee_Marsh_Map.pdf

During the migration season, especially in late spring, some friends and I
study the weather and try to predict which days will be best for seeing
migrants. We post these predictions, along with reports on recent
sightings, on this blog: http://cranecreekbirding.blogspot.com/

BSBO runs a springtime bird festival called "The Biggest Week in American
Birding," scheduled for May 6-15 this year. This festival has the effect of
REDUCING the crowds on the Magee boardwalk, since we hand out maps and
directions to many other local sites, and run field trips all over a
three-county surrounding area. For anyone coming to bird in the area, even
if they're not registered for the festival, there is a wealth of
information to be found in the Biggest Week Visitors' Guide. Printed copies
of the Guide can be picked up at many sites throughout n.w. Ohio, but it's
also viewable online at
http://issuu.com/presspublications/docs/americanbirding2014reduced/1?e=5908354/7426066

It's worthwhile to consider registering for the Biggest Week (
http://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com/ ) even if you're not
interested in any of the workshops, field trips, or programs. Registration
entitles you to various discounts at local restaurants and other
businesses, and gives you free access to some fun social events. Online
registration for this year's event is now closed. Walk-in registration will
be available throughout the event at both the Black Swamp Bird Observatory
(just north of Ohio State Route 2 at the entrance to Magee Marsh Wildlife
Area) and the Lodge at Maumee Bay State Park, where the festival is
headquartered.

If you're birding the area, you can also sign up to follow the Biggest Week
on Twitter and have up-to-the-minute bird sightings sent straight to your
smartphone.

Northwestern Ohio is blessed with an unusual amount of cooperation among
agencies and organizations. Our organization, Black Swamp Bird Observatory,
is a completely independent nonprofit. The top local birding sites are
administered by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Division of
Wildlife and Division of State Parks (Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Metzger
Marsh Wildlife Area, Maumee Bay State Park, East Harbor State Park, etc),
and by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge),
and BSBO has a good working relationship with both of those agencies. In
addition, nonprofit groups support both main sites. The Friends of Magee
Marsh
 (  http://www.friendsofmageemarsh.org/ ) have launched an ambitious
project to renovate the famous boardwalk, which is 25 years old this year
and starting to show its age. The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Association ( http://www.onwra.com/ ) supports the refuge in a variety of
ways; this spring they are raising funds to make improvements in the auto
tour route through the refuge, which will enhance the experience for
visitors. Both of these projects are of direct benefit to birders, and they
deserve our support.

Finally, if you are coming to the area for birding, please stop at the
Black Swamp Bird Observatory for information and birding maps, and to check
out the book store and "window on wildlife." The observatory will be open
every day in May. BSBO works year-round to promote research, education, and
conservation throughout Ohio and the surrounding regions, and it's a good
organization for birders to know.

Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, Ohio

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.


You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]