Crane Creek - Point Pelee 2007
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Crane Creek - Point Pelee Photos  2007 Trips     

Crane Creek,OH on the southern shores of Lake Erie and in particular the Magee Marsh Boardwalk were our main focus although additional time was spent searching the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge for sora and the woodland areas around Toledo for red-headed woodpecker and lark sparrow.

Walking along the boardwalk of Magee Marsh provides a wonderful opportunity to see the migrating birds in areas that would otherwise border on inaccessible.  Throughout the meandering boardwalk we were able to find or be shown by fellow observers wonderful sites such woodcock, whip-poor-will, sora, recently fledged killdeer, and eastern screech-owl.

And what of our target bird - the cape may warbler.  What better way to start the trip than to get out of the car and at the first section of boardwalk than to have a male cape may in breeding plumage.  While at this particular time we did not get to experience a "fall out effect" we were quite entertained with a variety of warblers working their way through the marsh.

Point Pelee is one of, if not the, most popular Birding Hotspots in Canada.  Located at the most southerly tip of Canada the peninsula extends into Lake Erie, this small national park provides a remarkable diversity of habitat.  I recall stating at one point that if I could draw up the perfect wildlife habitat it very well may be Point Pelee.

So what to see at Point Pelee, nothing much unless you have a preference for cape may warbler in the bushes so close you need to zoom back on your camera, rafts of red-breasted mergansers on Lake Erie, displaying wild turkey, henslow sparrow at your feet, and recently fledged great-horned owl.

Overall on the trip we had 104 species in Crane Creek, 82 species in Point Pelee and each had 3 new life birds - although not the same for each of us.

 Crane Creek - Point Pelee Photos     2007 Trips