Magee Marsh State Wildlife Area (Western Lake Erie Marshes Loop)
Magee Marsh is probably the most famous birding destination in Ohio. Thousands of birders from all over the country—and even overseas—flock here in May to witness spring migration.
Key Species by Season
Spring
- Blue-Headed Vireo
- Gray-Cheeked Thrush
- Connecticut Warbler
Summer
- Bald Eagle
- Snowy Egret
- Marsh Wren
Fall
- Blackpoll Warbler
- Bay-Breasted Warbler
- Cape-May Warbler
Winter
- Snow Goose
- Tundra Swan
- Short-Eared Owl
At-a-Glance
72 - Magee Marsh Wildlife Area
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife
13229 W. State Route 2
Oak Harbor, OH 43449
419.898.0960
Public Access
Open all day, year-round
Amenities
Hiking Trails, Restrooms, Visitors Center, Handicap Accessible Trails, Sightings Board, Outdoor Feeders, Wildlife Observation Window, Binocular Loan. A comprehensive area checklist is available.
Driving Directions
From Port Clinton, go west on State Route 2; Magee Marsh is about 5 miles past Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant, between State Route 19 and State Route 590.
What to Look For
Magee Marsh is probably the most famous birding destination in Ohio. Thousands of birders from all over the country—and even overseas—flock here in May to witness spring migration. Their primary destination is the legendary "bird trail," which is an elevated mile-and-a-half long boardwalk that bisects a 37-acre patch of swamp woods on the shore of Lake Erie. Catch a good day and the numbers and variery of songbirds can be stupefying. You'll likely be sharing them with several thousand other birders, but the birds are unaffected and often nearly at fingertip range. Nearly every regularly occurring songbird found in Ohio is found at Magee annually. The wildlife area is 2,000 acres and much of it is marsh. A great variety of waterbirds can be present and gravel pulloffs allow safe viewing from the causeway road that bisects the marsh. While peak birding is in spring, the opportunities are excellent year-round with interesting species present in every month.
Noteworthy Rarities
The list is too long to cite everything, but a few exceptional finds include Swainson's Hawk, Black-necked Stilt, Long-tailed Jaeger, Gray Flycatcher, Townsend's Warbler, Western Tanager, and Painted Bunting. There are numerous records of Kirtland's Warbler.
Natural Features
Blanding's turtle is often seen basking on logs near the bird trail. Large numbers of migratory dragonflies often swarm along the beaches, and the east beach was the site of Ohio's first record of striped saddlebags.
Local Resources
Magee Marsh Wildlife Area (posts updates and closures)
Lake Erie Shores & Islands
ODNR Division of Wildlife
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
Friends of Magee Marsh
Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce
Ohio Ornithological Society
About the Western Lake Erie Marshes Loop
The vast marshlands that buffer extensive areas of the Lake Erie shore are a cradle of biodiversity. This globally significant region stretches from Toledo to Sandusky Bay and is the most heavily birded part of Ohio.
On the second Saturday in May, which is International Migratory Bird Day, as many as 10,000 birders from all over the country and beyond will be in the area. While great swaths of the original marshes have been destroyed, huge tracts have been protected as wildlife areas or as part of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. The total species list for this loop is 350, and eleven of these species have been found only in this region.
What To Look For
There is never a dull season in the western Lake Erie marshes, but spring brings the most birders. They’re there for good reasons: Magee Marsh and vicinity supports one of the greatest migration spectacles to be found anywhere in North America. Scores of flycatchers, vireos, thrushes, tanagers, and others pass through in May. Stars of the show are the warblers, though. Thirty-seven species occur annually, and many of them can be found in jaw-dropping numbers. Early spring and fall see large movements of nearly all of the regularly occurring waterfowl. Raptor migrations can be sensational, and this is Ohio’s premier region for shorebird migration.
Noteworthy Rarities
There are probably more records of the federally endangered Kirtland’s Warbler from the western Lake Erie marshes region than anywhere else outside of the species’ breeding and wintering grounds. The warbler is but one of scores of rarities that have turned up in this region: 17 species with five or fewer Ohio records have been found, and the only Ohio records for four species come from western Lake Erie. The ODNR Division of Wildlife publishes A Field Checklist to the Birds of Magee Marsh (Publication 342), which details all of the birds found to date in the western Lake Erie marsh region.
Natural Features
The largest remaining marshes in Ohio buffer the western end of Lake Erie. In addition to supporting tremendous numbers and diversity of birds, these wetlands also harbor many other animals and an impressive diversity of plants. Species of plants that are now threatened or endangered, such as wild rice and bullhead-lily, can still be found. Two interesting reptiles that occur are the Blanding’s turtle and Eastern fox snake, both of which are largely confined to the western Lake Erie shoreline in Ohio. Incomprehensible numbers of dragonflies of many species live in the marshes, and occasionally rare migrant dragonflies are found, such as the striped saddlebags.
13229 W. State Route 2, Oak Harbor, OH 43449
