Hi all,

This weekend promises to be the best of the spring thus far in regards to migration along Lake Erie. Of course, the Biggest Week in American Birding will still be going strong and Magee Marsh and its legendary "Bird Trail" will be the place to be.

But just to the west of Toledo and within an hour of Magee lies one of Ohio's most biologically rich areas; a place filled to the gills with all manner of flora and fauna, including wonderful birds. The Oak Openings is a fascinating habitat that occupies the ancient sandy dunes and shores of pre-glacial Lake Erie, which was once much larger than it is today. A host of excellent breeding birds such as Summer Tanager, sometimes Blue Grosbeak, Red-headed Woodpecker, Whip-poor-will, Lark Sparrow, and many others occur. Many will remember recent records of Mountain Bluebird and Pine Grosbeak - these came from the heart of the Oak Openings. Later migrants should be coming through as well, including Olive-sided and Yellow-bellied flycatchers, Philadelphia Vireo, and Connecticut Warbler. This will also be a great weekend for someone to turn up a Kirtland's Warbler somewhere along western Lake Erie.

The Oak Openings also harbors more rare plants than any other similar-sized region in the state, and beauties such as Plains Puccoon and Wild Lupine should be painting the sandy barrens orange and yellow. The plant diversity means lots of butterfly diversity and most famous of this lot is the tiny Karner Blue, which should be on the wing this weekend.

To learn more about Blue Weekend, go here: http://www.oakopen.org/

Hope to see you up there!

Jim McCormac

Jim McCormac
Columbus, Ohio
Like Nature? http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/
Like Birds? http://www.ohiobirds.org/
MIDWEST NATIVE PLANT CONFERENCE: http://cincinnatibirds.com/mwnp/



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