If you want a colorful and exciting introduction to birdwatching or experience the annual thrill of spring migration, head to Lake Erie’s marshes in the next few weeks.
May is go time for birds, and the lake’s shoreline is a lively resting place for millions of birds making their trek north from their winter homes in the Caribbean, South and Central America.
The Biggest Week in American Birding festival (May 9-18) celebrates the migration with special events centered around Oak Harbor, “The Warbler Capital of the World,” and Magee Marsh Wildlife Refuge, both about 90 minutes west of Cleveland.
The festival draws thousands of people, but you can see plenty of warblers later in the month, too. I was there on a cloudy and windy day just after last year’s festival. The weather was not warbler-friendly, but I saw several and about six bald eagles. My tip: Check the weather forecast before you go and have fun spotting the colorful flashes of the warblers as they flit and fly among the shrubs. I’ve never met an experienced birder who wasn’t happy to share his knowledge with me or point out a hard-to-see bird.
Learn more at mageemarsh.org and Black Swamp Bird Observatory.
