This is just a note about Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, the main unit of
which lies immediately to the west of the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area / Crane
Creek State Park complex in n.w. Ohio.  The whole staff at Ottawa has been
insanely busy recently, preparing for the grand opening of their new
visitors' center this weekend.  I don't know if anyone there will find time
to post something official to the listserve, but I wanted to "unofficially"
mention that the auto tour route at Ottawa NWR is supposed to be open this
weekend, from 8 to 5 on Saturday and from 9 to 4 on Sunday.  (This info is
from the Ottawa NWR Association, a membership group that helps support the
refuge; Kim and I are members, of course.)

As for birding at Ottawa, remember that it's not just about water birds.
The woods near the beginning of the auto tour can be excellent for migrant
songbirds -- birds are not as concentrated there as they are on the
immediate lake shore but they may stay longer.  In between "waves" of
arriving migrants, I've sometimes had more birds there than at the Magee
boardwalk.  This week, on the walking trails through those woods at Ottawa,
I've seen a wide variety of warblers, including Kentucky, Hooded, and
Orange-crowned, plus all the brown thrushes and many other migrants.

Kenn Kaufman
Rocky Ridge, Ohio

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