For birders newly arrived in this region, Troy Shively has just provided an
excellent overview of the birding opportunities throughout the state.  The
birding community in Ohio is generally very open and welcoming to newcomers;
the fact that an expert like Troy takes the time to provide so much
information is a good indication of that.

Troy ended his post by mentioning a mid-May visit to Magee Marsh Wildlife
Area (Ottawa and Lucas counties, n.w. Ohio) as the one "must-see" birding
destination.  Many birders would agree.  I just wanted to point out that the
Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO), located at the entrance to Magee,
maintains a set of online "birding pages" with detailed information on
birding in northwest Ohio; the pages can be accessed here:

http://www.bsbo.org/Birding/

From the home page you can link to "Birding hotspots: directions and maps,"
with detailed birding maps for Magee Marsh, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge,
and other best sites in this area. The page also links to notes about timing
of the migration, area hotels and restaurants, and other kinds of logistical
info.  During migration seasons, there are also frequent updates on what is
being seen locally, as well as predictions for the next day's migration
based on analysis of the weather forecast.  So new birders who are thinking
about their first visit to the migrant spots in n.w. Ohio should bookmark
the BSBO birding pages.

New birders here should also be aware of a spring event called "The Biggest
Week in American Birding," being held May 6-16 in the area centered on Magee
Marsh and Ottawa NWR.  This event features multiple free birdwalks every
day, as well as many programs that are either free or very inexpensive, so
it will offer many opportunities for newcomers to learn about the area and
the birds.  More information is here:

http://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com/

As Troy already indicated, birders in this state are a friendly crowd.  If
you are new to the area, we'll hope to see you this spring up in northwest
Ohio!

Kenn Kaufman
Oak Harbor, OH

______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

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