Each year Jan and I travel to the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, a mecca for nature enthusiasts and birders along western Lake Erie, to see how many different kinds of birds we can find in a week during spring migration. Although we do teach a couple classes while there, the trip is more of a vacation. The fabled Magee Marsh Wildlife Area boardwalk draws thousands of people to see an incredible variety of local and migratory species, but, during our week’s stay, we usually spend more time visiting many other nearby habitats than we do at Magee. Although we are there for a week, we still don’t have enough time to visit all the amazing habitats we would like to explore.
We never know what weather to expect, so we prepared for all situations.
Tree Swallows were common at every place we visited.
Bordering Magee Marsh is the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Not only are there numerous wetlands, there are 2 beautiful deciduous woodlands we visit to see birds and other creatures we rarely see elsewhere.
Apparently this Barn Swallow was thirsty!
What is better than having “all your ducks in a row”? — Having all your Great Egrets in a row.
…or having all your Midland Painted Turtles in a row.
There is so much to see of all aspects of Nature, like this abundance of Golden Oyster Mushrooms.
Just to the west of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is the Metzger Marsh peninsula. There are several car pull-offs for observing wildlife along the marsh area. At the end of the road, by the parking lot, is a small deciduous woodland (which is usually very birdy) and a dike dividing Lake Erie from the marsh.
I have always found snakes to be fascinating creatures, whether climbing or swimming, all their movements are interesting. This guy was moving right along!
A short distance from Metzger Marsh is Howard Marsh, one of Toledo’s Metroparks.
Most of the time we chase birds with friends and sometimes meet others we don’t frequently see. Here, Jan and I are with friends Julie and Michael, who we have known for a long time.
We had not seen our friend, Lynn, since a hike I led in the Dolly Sods Wilderness in WV several years ago. She and Jan recognized each other and talked until they figured out the “when” and “where”.
Continuing west from Howard Marsh is Maumee Bay State Park where we can always find nesting Cliff Swallows.
West of Maumee are a series of habitats referred to as Pearson Metropark. Many times we find a surprise at Pearson.
I had never seen Flowering Rush plants and found them to be quite attractive. They are native to Eurasia and were introduced as ornamentals, but are now considered invasive in and around the Great Lakes region.
Our days always end with a nice supper with friends.
Will we have time to visit the interesting wildlife sites to the east of Magee Marsh, too?
Bill Beatty Nature 
Thank you for this beautiful post. I love the gorgeous pictures.
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You’re welcome!
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I wonder what all the egrets were finding in that ditch? Must have been pretty good!
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We noticed they were feeding on… small fish, small frogs, and tadpoles.
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