Friday, May 4, marks the first day of this year’s “Biggest
Week in American Birding”—an amazing birding festival centered at the Black
Swamp Bird Observatory near Toledo, Ohio. I am leading a couple of field trips
and serving as one of the keynote speakers this year, and I’m also going to
spend a lot of time in the Magee Marsh, one of the premier places in all of
North America for seeing warblers on migration. The Magee Marsh is just a ferry
ride from Point Pelee, and based on my experience provides comparably fine
birding. When I was there for a few days in 2010, I got amazing photos of a
wide variety of warblers, and I hit migration early. This year I’ll be there
for the peak.
One of the specialties of this part of Ohio is Kirtland’s
Warbler, which is found here every year. Indeed, the first Kirtland’s Warbler
described for science was collected near Cleveland, and there were several more
sightings of the species in Ohio before the bird’s breeding ground in Michigan
was discovered. Exploring data on eBird.org shows a cluster of sightings along
the south shore of Lake Erie.
Just as thrilling as the possibility of seeing a rare
warbler or two is the assurance of getting nice and close to much more common
species. Prothonotary Warblers nest in the Magee Marsh--I got some pretty good
photos last time I was there, and this year will focus on getting even better
ones.
I got a few nice photos of female Black-throated Blue Warblers, and want
to concentrate this year on getting better photos of males.
I also want get
close to Blackburnian and Magnolia Warblers and Northern Parulas. I’m also
still waiting to get the definitive photo of a Black-and-white Warbler. But the
warbler I’m most hoping to get excellent photos of is the Canada Warbler. I
have only a few pictures of this gorgeous species, all taken before I had my
new camera and lens.
Thrushes abound at the Magee Marsh. They don’t sing on
migration, and accurate identification often requires careful scrutiny, but
that’s what’s fun about birding.
The boardwalk at the Magee Marsh can be more
densely packed with birders than is comfortable, but even when hundreds crowd
in with their tripods and cameras, the birds still outnumber us. There are
plenty of secluded birding spots—the joy of the Biggest Week is celebrating
this huge migration event with people, and the more newcomers we bring in, the
more people there will be who are not just aware of warblers but have seen just
how gorgeous and valuable they are, and the better it will be for the future of
birds.
Lake Erie runs east-to-west, and its long southern shore forms
the same kind of barrier to spring migration as Lake Superior’s north shore
does in fall. The two field trips I’ll be leading will explore other hotspots
in the area, and I expect to see a lot of great birds in the company of
smaller, more manageable groups than we’ll enjoy at the Magee Marsh.
In 2010, we had a dramatic thunderstorm with tornado warnings.
The clouds were amazing, and the experience of watching the storm made up for
the birding time lost.
I’ll of course hope for good weather the whole time I’m
there, but rain is part of the nature of spring migration, and whatever
happens, I’m sure to have a great time. At the Biggest Week in American
Birding, that much is guaranteed.
