Magee Marsh's legendary boardwalk

This mile long elevated wooden boardwalk is one of the most famous trails in North America. Winding through a 30-acre patch of swamp forest and wetland at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, it is a destination for tens of thousands of birders, especially in May. In May 2012, traffic counter surveys conservatively estimated over 66,000 visitors made the pilgrimage to the "Bird Trail". The number may have been even higher, like around 75,000 or more people. And nearly all of them are birders, of every stripe and level of expertise. They come to witness the magic of Neotropical birds - flycatchers, vireos, thrushes, orioles, tanagers, and others. And, of course, WARBLERS! Nothing gets the blood flowing like warblers, and they are the standout stars in a cast of exceptional players.

It is possible to see over 100 species along the boardwalk and elsewhere in Magee Marsh on a good day. Most of the songbirds have come from the tropics: Central America, South America, the Caribbean. Many will have flown 1,500 miles or more northward to reach Magee, and the Bird Trail woods is but a way station as they journey to more northerly locales. Upon reaching Lake Erie, which at a glance through a songbird's eyes appears an endless ocean, the birds stop to rest and refuel. It's only 28 miles across the lake to Canada, if one takes the longest route, but most of the birds hedge their bets and stay to fatten up for a bit before making the crossing. And in the process, thrill thousands of birders who can observe the feathered transients at close range.

This scene is not atypical along the Bird Trail during the second weekend in May, which is the best timeframe for maximum bird numbers and diversity. Epic crowds to be sure, but a scene that everyone should experience. It's amazing to see so many birders gathered together, and one major plus is that virtually no Connecticut or Kirtland's warblers or any other rarity will go undetected.

The 25th anniversary of the Magee Marsh Bird Trail boardwalk is this year. A quarter-century of ever-growing foot traffic, coupled with the humid conditions of the swamp forest, has taken its toll on the wooden planking. The vaunted trail is in need of refurbishing.

Enter the Friends of Magee Marsh. This group exists to support the wildlife area and does so in many ways. Their latest and greatest project involves an ambitious fundraising effort with the aim of completely redoing the boardwalk. The Friends have already raised $25,000, and begun to transform dollars into boards. When you visit this spring, you'll see that sections of the boardwalk, at either end, have been replaced. In the photo above, old wood in the foreground meets brand spanking new lumber. The new wood should last for a long time to come.

A view down the steps from the tower near the boardwalk's west end. The punky old wood of the tower's spur trail is now fresh and new.

Ambitious efforts such as this don't come cheap. An estimated $300,000 is needed to complete renovations to the boardwalk. When you're at Magee this spring, you'll see this sign near the boardwalk. Please help support the project. If every birder who visited Magee in May dropped a fiver towards the boardwalk, it'd easily be a done deal.

Five bucks is a small price to pay to support the legendary Bird Trail boardwalk that has played such a huge role in North American birding. There is no entrance fee to gain access to Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, so perhaps this year you can donate a five dollar bill to the Friends of Magee Marsh, and consider it a one-time voluntary user fee that goes for an absolutely fantastic cause.

Major thanks go to the Friends of Magee Marsh for spearheading this project; be sure to give them your regards (and donation) when you're at Magee this spring. Or CLICK HERE to help.

Birds, Birders, and the Bird Trail

Holiday Inn – French Quarter, Perrysburg. The hub of last weekend’s Ohio ORNITHOLOGICAL Society conference. Many attendees drove right by after seeing this marquee, thinking “Oh wow, looky there. The OTHER bird society must be meeting in Perrysburg too”. In all fairness, I can’t spell our name right half the time, either.

A great number of us who went up for the conference hit the famous Bird Trail at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area on Saturday morning, prior to the conference. We weren’t disappointed, nor were the rest of the binocular-clad throngs. Birds called and sang everywhere; at times it was tough to know where to focus attention. And this, I know from experience, was not even a “great” day at the boardwalk.

I like to keep an eye peeled for birdological license plates, and have a massive digital pile of them. But, several “lifers” were added Saturday. With thousands of birdermobiles cruising the area, finding new plates wasn’t hard.

In addition to good birding, meeting lots of people along the trail is a guaranteed thing. I always run into scads of folks that I know, including some I rarely encounter elsewhere – sort of like humanoid migrants passing through in spring, just like the warblers.

Here, Bill Thompson (right), editor of Bird Watcher’s Digest, yuks it up with Jim Berry, Director of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Bill is vice-president of the Ohio Ornithological Society and emcee of the weekend’s indoor events. Jim was one of our speakers and did a bang-up job.

Behind Jim are veteran birders Larry Richardson and Jan Auburn.

Later, when we came off the boardwalk some four hours after starting – slowest circuit of a mile and a half ever – there was Jon Dunn (in hat). Jon is one of North America’s true birding celebs, having authored or co-authored, among other works, A Field Guide to Warblers of North America. Warblers are easily the #1 attraction along the trail, and if everyone there knew that Jon was THE MAN regarding warblers, they’d probably mob him like he was an avian Britney Spears.

Jon is also a tour leader for WINGS, and had a large group in tow, many from California. If you ever pine for the warmth and surf of the far left coast, keep in mind they do not have anything approaching the spring warbler parade that Ohio does. So they come here.

That’s Bill again to Jon’s left, Michael Packer next to him, and OOS board member Craig Caldwell in green. With this sort of talent all over the place, few birds go missing.

It’s not always Connecticut and Kirtland’s Warblers that garner all of the glory. This Killdeer was sitting tight on eggs near the parking lot, and admired by scores. Many years, a Woodcock nests right by the lot, too.

I was here the preceding Saturday, too, and was struck by the shift over to females among the warblers. A week earlier, males dominated. This is a female Bay-breasted Warbler, one of many along the boardwalk. The third weekend in May is an excellent place to practice learning songs of wispy high-pitched conifer specialist warblers, such as this one, Cape May, Blackburnian, and Blackpoll. More than a few pitch-challenged birders have watched one of these species open its bill to deliver a tune, but hear nothing.

Male Magnolia Warbler, and this is often a typical view. Bit of patience, though, and you’ll be rewarded with much better looks. One of the great things about the Magee bird trail is that the birds are often oblivious to people. Warblers will be at arm’s length, foraging, fighting, and singing. The chatter of the crowd and click click click of cameras doesn’t faze them.

There were Eastern Kingbirds everywhere – in the treetops, out in the marsh, and flying overhead. I saw dozens in a half-day, and who knows how many hundreds or thousands were in the area.

The Black Swamp Bird Observatory is located right at the entrance to Magee Marsh, and they accommodate droves of birders in May with their varied and frequent activities. The Observatory and its people are great ambassadors for birds, and make the most of their strategic location. Here, BSBO director Kim Kaufman holds a “Traill’s” Flycatcher. It is either an Alder or Willow Flycatcher – separating the two is very difficult and not always possible, even in the hand. Voice is the way to go, but they’ll seldom do much other than deliver occasional angry squawks while biting your finger when in the hand.

Next time you are at Magee, be sure and stop by BSBO’s center and say hi.