Every spring millions of songbirds make an epic journey from wintering grounds in Central & South America to breeding grounds in Canada. As these tiny birds fly through the night, many cross over Ohio. As the sun rises and the vast expanse of Lake Erie spreads out over the horizon, many of these birds will stop to rest and feed on the southern shore of the Lake. This “migrant trap” leads to hundreds, and in many cases thousands, of warblers and other migrants to collect in the marshes and woodlots along the Lake. Places like Magee Marsh, Ottawa NWR, Metzger Marsh, Oak Openings, and many other parks and preserves have become world famous birding hotspots each May.

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We will begin our trip with a visit to Oak Openings MetroPark and several of the prairie preserves in the area. This gives us a good chance for Blue-winged Warblers, Lark Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Henslow’s Sparrows, as well as a wide variety of migrants. These parks are much more open and spread out than the boardwalk at Magee Marsh, so large crowds of birders on the last day of the Biggest Week Festival shouldn’t be an issue.

The next morning we will take a trip to the world famous Magee Marsh Boardwalk. This magical place is often full of dozens of species of warblers and other songbirds, and with the festival being over, the crowds will not be as bad as previous days.

The next several days will be spent visiting places like Howard Marsh to look for Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Horned Larks, Ottawa NWR, Metzger Marsh, and several other hotspots. The exact schedule will depend on what rarities are being reported and on what we have seen on previous days.

On the last full day of the tour we will make the drive north into Michigan to look for the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler in their breeding territory. Seeing Kirtland’s Warblers singing in the Jack Pines is a truly remarkable experience!