You NEED to go see these~Biggest Week Birds

Howdee all,

If you want to experience a slice of Warbler Heaven…

GO GO GO to

The Biggest Week in American Birding

Where~Oak Harbor and Oregon Ohio

May 4-13

Q: Why come to Northwest Ohio in May?
A: Because it is quite simply the best place to witness spring migration of songbirds anywhere in North America. The southern edge of Lake Erie acts as a barrier that the birds are reluctant to cross during migration. The birds tend to "pile up" in the woodlots surrounded by marshland on the lake's southern edge to rest and refuel before crossing the Lake. The timing of their arrival is early enough in spring that the trees have not leafed out, there are no bugs, and the birds are incredibly low and accessible. No such thing as "warbler neck" around here! We get HUGE numbers of birds, much like a fallout, only better! Fallouts occur when a weather event pushes birds down, and what birders find are the weary survivors. Here in NW Ohio, we get the same huge numbers of birds as you'd see in a fallout, but the birds are active and vibrant, and by the time they get to this latitude, the males are actively singing!

 

You can register for the event here.

Lots of Wonderful  bird walks and talks.

 

Jeff and I will return for a second time. We attended the event last year and had a blast!

It touched me to my core…to see so many beautiful birds up close…(Not just warblers)

I was teary eyed more than once on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh.

 

This year I am honored to be one of the Official Bloggers of The Biggest Week.

 

I will also be helping with the Bird Sits ~come and join me for some fun birding.

 

Magee Marsh Bird Sits
Date: May 7 & 9
Time: 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Where: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area (Near the west end of the boardwalk. See the map (to the left) for the exact spot indicated with a red star.)
Fee: Just show your BIGGEST WEEK name badge to participate!

Designed for those with limited mobility—or those who just like to take a break and see what birds come to you—these Bird Sits will allow you to relax and enjoy the birds visiting the edge of the wood lot along the boardwalk. This edge habitat frequently offers some of the best birding in the area and we’ll have expert guides on hand to help you spot birds and tune your ears in to the fine art of birding by ear, too. We’ll post these group sit-ins in the grassy area near the west end of the Magee Marsh boardwalk. (See the map for the exact spot.)  Please bring your own chair, birding stool, or blanket to sit on. This area should be fine for those with wheelchairs or motorized carts.

 

And now..

a few bird photos to entice you…

These were taken with my point and shoot camera~imagine what you could do with a nice DSLR!

Bay-breasted Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

American Woodcock

Prothonotary Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Scarlet Tanager back end~you can see the front end there too!

American Redstart

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Canada Warblers cute back end..

Canada Warbler

Palm Warbler

Black and white Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Common Yellow throat

White-crowned sparrow

Northern Parula

Philadelphia Vireo

White throated sparrow

Baltimore Oriole~Magee parking lot

Some days on the boardwalk..We walk with birds beside us..

Black and White Warbler on boardwalk

Magnolia Warbler~close to boardwalk

Prothonatary Warbler

Chestnut-sided warbler on boardwalk

The birds that drew crowds

Mourning and Connecticut Warblers..We didn’t see a Kirtland’s last year…Maybe this year.

I have just a blurry distant photo of a Mourning warbler…

This flycatcher was quite popular

Olive-sided Flycatcher

“quick-three-beers”

While all the migrating birds are hanging out waiting to cross Lake Erie..

Some local birds are busy with other things.

Pairing up..

and tending to the kids..

Its not just about woodland birds here

There are shorebirds too..

These are just a sampling of the birds you might see at The Biggest Week..

Check out the list of birds here.

If you have never been..I suggest you treat yourself and attend this event!

If you have been~you know how amazing it is!

I hope to see you there!

Give me a shout if you will be coming..

I would love to meet you and show you a few birds.