Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Ottawa and Lucas Counties, northwest
Ohio, is a deservedly popular birding spot.  The refuge protects several
square miles of managed and natural wetlands, fields, and woodland, and
supports vast numbers of migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds in
season.  It also hosts Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, King
Rails, Black Terns, both bittern species, and many other choice birds during
the nesting season, and a major population of Bald Eagles year-round.
During the month of May, Ottawa may be overshadowed by its next-door
neighbor, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, but local birders know that the refuge
offers fine birding practically every day of the year.

Last year I talked to some visitors who said they didn't bird the refuge
much because they weren't sure where to go.  Of course that info is always
available at the refuge Visitors' Center for anyone who goes and asks; but
to make it easier for birders to plan trips and make the most of their
visits, I've drawn a series of "birding maps" of Ottawa NWR.  One map is a
general overview of the main unit of the refuge, one gives more detail on
the Auto Tour route, and the third is more of a close-up of the walking
trails near the Visitors' Center and elsewhere in the eastern part of the
refuge's main unit.  Each of these maps is accompanied by a page of notes.
These are all available online for free downloading, and you may be able to
print each map and its associated notes as a two-sided document to take
along if you like.

These maps (and others for some other local sites) are available for free
through the Birding Pages of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory.  Go to
http://www.bsbo.org/birding/  and follow the links for "Birding Hotspots:
Directions and Maps."

The members of the Ottawa NWR staff that I've met are terrific people,
dedicated and hard-working.  Special thanks to Rebecca Hinkle and Ron
Huffman, who took time out from busy schedules to give me lots of
information and advice for the maps.  Any errors that remain are my
responsibility, however.

The Auto Tour route on Ottawa is scheduled to be open this Saturday, April
18, from 9 to 4.  Saturday is supposed to be warm and mostly clear, and --
as I predicted elsewhere on the BSBO Birding Pages (
http://cranecreekbirding.blogspot.com/ ) -- it looks as if there may be a
significant arrival of migrants on Saturday morning in this area.  If you're
trying to decide where to go birding this weekend, it would be worth
considering Ottawa NWR and other nearby areas such as Magee Marsh Wildlife
Area, Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, East Harbor State Park, and Maumee Bay
State Park.  No, the big warbler flights aren't around yet, but some of
their advance scouts may show up this weekend, and there are plenty of the
earlier migrants here.

Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, Ohio

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