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UID:2119@coolcleveland.com
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York;VALUE=DATE:20250509
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York;VALUE=DATE:20250519
DTSTAMP:20260402T092749Z
URL:https://coolcleveland.com/events/take-part-in-the-biggest-week-in-amer
 ican-birding-by-claudia-taller/
SUMMARY:Take Part in the Biggest Week in American Birding by Claudia Taller
DESCRIPTION:\nFri 5/9-Sun 5/18\nBirds are in flight\, stopping on the south
 ern shores of Lake Erie before flying on to the Canadian boreal forests. S
 ome make northeast Ohio their home\, while others are migrants from south 
 of the U.S. border. This is the perfect time to pay attention to and celeb
 rate birds.\nYou’ve probably seen lots of activity in your backyard if y
 ou live near Lake Erie. We hear red-winged blackbirds and have spotted yel
 low goldfinch\, mixed in with the cardinals\, blue jays\, robins and sparr
 ows that we see all the time. On recent walks at Wendy Park and the Lakefr
 ont Nature Preserve in Cleveland\, we saw and heard warbling vireos\, Cape
  May warblers\, grackles\, wood thrush\, yellow and bay breasted warblers\
 , common yellow throats\, brown-headed cowbirds\, Carolina wrens\, norther
 n mockingbirds\, and American pipits. Some of these birds migrate from as 
 far as South America.\nThe place to go during May is the Black Swamp\, out
  toward Toledo. The land there was once covered by impenetrable swamp in n
 orthwest Ohio and northeast Indiana along Lake Erie. The place was so diff
 icult to pass through that in the mid-1800s\, it was drained to create val
 uable farmland and provide a route to places west.\nToday\, the boardwalk 
 over the wetlands at Maumee Bay State Park gives us a glimpse of what the 
 area was like in the mid-19th century — forests open to wet grasslands a
 nd marshy prairies\, and if you look closely\, if you’re “mindful\,”
  you see colorful birds in the foliage during migration time. One thousand
  acres of restored wetland along Lake Erie is now protected so that birds 
 have shelter and can find food before their journey northward.\nThe first 
 year we drove out to Magee Marsh to bird hunt\, we had no idea what we wer
 e doing or how to do it. I created an itinerary by looking at the Ohio Dep
 artment of Natural Resources’ Lake Erie Birding Trail that included Huro
 n Harbor\, Old Woman’s Creek\, and Sherod Park. At our first stop\, shar
 p-winged chimney swifts darted through the air\, seagulls wailed overhead\
 , and ducks swam alongside the docks. At our second stop\, we saw herons a
 nd osprey. Next stop\, we saw lots of seagulls and shorebirds.\nWe didn’
 t know that it was the biggest week of birding in America. The Biggest Wee
 k of American Birding\, the 10-day festival that takes place in what is kn
 own as the “Warbler Capital of the World” and organized by the Black S
 wamp Bird Observatory\, is coming to Oak Harbor\, Ohio\, during the week o
 f May 9-18.\nWe should take busloads out there. It’s that special.\nWe a
 rrived at Magee Marsh in the slanted sunlight of late afternoon. Hundreds 
 of birders wearing khaki\, hats and hiking boots crowded the boardwalk wit
 h their binoculars and long camera lenses. We followed the strangers\, and
  they helpfully pointed and whispered the names of the birds\, and then we
  could see the bright subtropical birds in the dense darkness of the fores
 t. It was an amazing time. On our way to the parking lot and out onto the 
 causeway\, an owl watched us from the hollow of a tree\, and when a bald e
 agle flew overhead\, human voices rang out so all could see. We almost mis
 sed a heron on the bank of the creek because we were so deep in thought. O
 n the ground we saw grackles in the decaying fallen leaves— we’d never
  seen a grackle before. Just like that\, we were birders.\nBirds have beco
 me part of our lives because of our experience in the Black Swamp. We have
  a Bird Buddy in our backyard that videotapes the birds that land there to
  feed. Red-headed woodpeckers\, Carolina wrens and house finches take turn
 s with the food. Our hummingbird feeder draws ruby-throated hummingbirds i
 f we get the nectar out there soon enough in the spring. If we hear but ca
 nnot see a bird\, our Merlin app tells us what species we hear. Because we
 ’re now fascinated by birds\, they are part of our lives\, even when tra
 veling. Condors in South America\, the resplendent quetzal in Costa Rica\,
  and the crowned crane in Kenya will never be forgotten.\nKeynote speakers
 \, guided hikes\, workshops\, evening socials and daily bird counts are al
 l part of the fun at the bird festival. For example\, Stephen Moss\, who h
 as travelled to all seven continents in search of wildlife and is one of B
 ritain’s leading nature writers and broadcasters\, will speak at Maumee 
 Bay Lodge. Workshops include gull identification\, choosing binoculars\, a
 nd how to identify birds by their songs. Guided van trips are selling out.
 \nThe Biggest Week in American Birding festival takes place in multiple lo
 cations over the course of a week: Maumee Bay State Park in Oregon\; Black
  Swamp Bird Observatory\, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area Visitor’s Center\, O
 ttawa National Wildlife Refuge in Oak Harbor. Information on the Biggest W
 eek in American Birding can be found at biggestweekinamericanbirding.com\,
  on Facebook as The Biggest Week in American Birding\, @Biggest Week on Tw
 itter\, and as @biggestweek on Instagram. The cost for all programming is 
 $55 for non-members\, and $35 for ​Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) M
 embers\, but people can sign up for individual programs or explore on thei
 r own.\n\nClaudia J. Taller has been writing for Cool Cleveland since shor
 tly after its inception. She is the author of four books and has written m
 any articles for local and national magazines. Find out more about her at 
 http://claudiajtaller.com/.
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CATEGORIES:college,Education,----WRITERS----,Outdoors,Preview,Free,RSS,Sci
 ence,Nature/Environment,Claudia Taller,Tags
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