Migration at Magee Marsh

Migration at Magee Marsh

Every spring, millions of birds migrate north from South America. Many of these birds fly through Ohio and must pass over Lake Erie to reach their breeding grounds in Canada. Marshes and wetlands along the shores of Lake Erie provide the perfect habitat for migratory warblers to rest and feed before continuing across the lake. One of these habitats is Magee Marsh, a famous migration spot where both birds and birdwatchers congregate during the month of May.

This year, I was fortunate to have an opportunity to visit Magee Marsh for a day. Although there are various trails and even other parks nearby, the 1-mile Magee Marsh boardwalk is the most well-known and popular during migration. After only a few steps into the trail, I had already started seeing warblers, such as the American Redstart. While I can find plenty of the same birds at home during migration, they are usually harder to spot, higher up in the trees, and usually there just are not as many warblers all in one place. On the Magee Marsh boardwalk, many birds were at eye-level and only a foot or two away from the path (or sometimes they even landed on the boardwalk!).

Eagles, Warblers, & Owls- Oh My!

Everyone goes to Magee Marsh to see the warblers, of course, but there is actually a ton of other interesting wildlife as well. There were two Bald Eagle nests overlooking the boardwalk and I did get to see one pair of eagle parents at their nest. All of the area surrounding Lake Erie seems to be great eagle habitat, and I have seen numerous Bald Eagles and nests while driving up there or visiting other parks in the area.

Another highlight for me was an Eastern Screech Owl that was resting in a tree above the trail. I actually would have missed the owl if there had not been other birders there pointing it out. Since migration at Magee Marsh is such a well-known event in the birding community, the boardwalk was full of other people- all with their binoculars and cameras, and often willing to help strangers find birds. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any amazing photos of the owl, but it was still a lifer and very exciting!

Overall, I saw a good number of different bird species and got great, close-up views. Yellow Warblers and Prothonotary Warblers seemed especially comfortable with landing near humans, and I saw many Yellow Warblers boldly singing along the trail. I spotted two Wilson’s Warblers, which were a lifer for me. In nearby ponds, I also saw two Blandings Turtles, which are a threatened species in Ohio. And once I’d done two rounds on the boardwalk, I took a short walk along the beach as I returned to my car. From there, I found several more birds such as Northern Flickers, Brown Thrashers, House Wrens, and a Great Blue Heron.

Visiting the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Driving Trail

On the day after visiting Magee Marsh, I headed over to Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge to do their driving trail before heading home. I HIGHLY recommend this driving trail- it is 7 miles long and takes you through rich wetland habitat on the shore of Lake Erie. I have gone through there a few times, and there are always interesting birds and landscapes to be seen. Many Bald Eagles live in the area, and the driving tour takes you right past a nest. I have also seen numerous Trumpeter Swans, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Sandhill Cranes, American White Pelicans, and various other species. The exact species will depend on the time of year, but I’ve never been disappointed. One thing that I love about this trail however, is how convenient it is when you are not able to do much hiking. When we visit with the kids, they can be comfortable in the car and do their own thing while I look at birds. And while you can remain in your vehicle the whole time, there are several small parking areas where you can park and get out to take pictures. On this particular visit, I got to view numerous Bald Eagles flying over the wetlands and even swooping down to the water a few times.

Below is a list of all the species I was able to see & identify at Magee Marsh, and at the top of this page you can view the slideshow of photos from my trip. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and hope that I can make Magee Marsh an annual adventure in the future!

1. American Redstart
2. Bald Eagle
3. Baltimore Oriole
4. Bay-Breasted Warbler
5. Blackburnian Warbler
6. Black-Throated Blue Warbler
7. Black-Throated Green Warbler
8. Brown Thrasher
9. Chestnut-Sided Warbler
10. Common Grackle
11. Double-Crested Cormorant
12. Downy Woodpecker
13. Eastern Kingbird
14. Eastern Screech Owl
15. Gray Catbird
16. Great Blue Heron
17. Green Heron
18. House Wren
19. Magnolia Warbler
20. Northern Cardinal
21. Northern Flicker
22. Prothonotary Warbler
23. Red-Eyed Vireo
24. Red-Winged Blackbird
25. Sandhill Crane
26. Song Sparrow
27. Swainson’s Thrush
28. Tree Swallow
29. Warbling Vireo
30. Wilson’s Warbler
31. Yellow Warbler
32. Yellow-Rumped Warbler