The Biggest Week in American Birding

I’ve wanted to attend this in Ottawa County (hosted by Black Swamp Observatory) for several years but couldn’t make it work. This year we managed to be there for two days! It was amazing.

We made the most of the two days – leaving our house early, spending long days in marshes, and heading for home late the second day.

A highlight of the trip was our excursion to West Sister Island as part of Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge’s fundraiser. I’m proud to be a supporter of that organization. The ride out to the was island cold. And windy. But so beautiful. We saw an amazing amount of cormorants, as well as gulls, pelicans, and a bald eagle. While it’s true I’ve seen all of those before, actually many times, it was wonderful to seem them on a protected island. It’s all theirs. We were observers, not intruders. The island is a designated wilderness area and it’s only for wildlife, visitation isn’t allowed. It’s home to the largest rookery in the Great Lakes. And the sunset on the way back to Port Clinton was one of the most amazing I’ve ever seen. Watching the sun seemingly sink into Lake Erie was truly magical.

We also hit Magee Marsh (twice) and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. We went to Howard Marsh once in the past and headed there again this time. It was so worth it! On our way home we stopped at my happy place – the Huron pier.

We saw some lifers and some old friends. I got some good photos and some not so good photos – as usual!