Huron and Oak Harbor never disappoint

My husband and I made a quick trip to Huron in early April. We were out of the house by 8:30 a.m. Saturday and packed in a ton! Sunday was very cold but we made the best of it.

Since the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge drive was closed we signed up for the Puddles Shuttle for the first time. And it was so worth it! They typically run the shuttle Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. You need to sign up, but it’s free.

It was chilly as we drove along – it’s open air – but not horrible. We saw American pelicans, trumpeter swans, a woodchuck, great blue herons, great egrets, many red winged blackbirds, and way in the distance lesser scaups. I love the pelicans. I still haven’t gotten THE photo I want but I’m pretty happy with this one.

We also went to Magee Marsh. The warblers have just begun to migrate so we didn’t see many but it was a nice walk. We heard sandhill cranes in the distance, but didn’t see them. That’s on my bird bucket list! We saw horned grebes, blue-winged teals, northern shovelers, cormorants, and more. The shovelers are so beautiful!

In Huron, we hit some of our favorite places – Cedar Point Road, Enchanted Cottage, and the pier. We got up at sunrise and were rewarded with beautiful birdsong, deer, great egrets, and a first for us – American black ducks. I didn’t get a great photo but I saw them!

One of my favorite places in the world is the pier in Huron. We stopped both days we were there. I was thrilled to have it to myself for a bit on Sunday (it was COLD lol!). It’s so peaceful and I love the bird activity. We alway see gulls, typically herring and ring-billed. We also saw red-breasted mergansers and turkey vultures.

We ware also amazed at the storm debris we saw – both at Enchanted Cottage and the pier.

This is normally a path that is even accessible to kayakers carrying their kayaks. It’s virtually impassable.

There’s normally debris, but we’ve never seen this level. There was a floating pier with barrels, and large tree trunks.

No matter how many times we go to the Huron and Oak Harbor areas, we continue to find new things to see. This time we we discovered a barrier beach that’s part of Old Woman Creek State Nature Preserve. We’ve been to Old Woman Creek many times, but never new about the beach. Some Facebook comments this winter pointed me in that direction. After some driving back and forth, we found it! It’s a lovely little beach (no swimming!). We saw a bald eagle very close, and surpisingly, a raccoon! We’ll definitely being going back.