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19 - Cleveland Lakefront State Park-
Gordon Park
Ohio State Parks
East 72nd Street at North Marginal
216.881.8141
Public Access
Open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Amenities
Hiking Trails, Restrooms, Picnic Area, Handicap
Accessible Trails
GPS Coordinates
N 41° 32'11.09"; W 81° 38'5.42"
Driving Directions
From I-90, exit at Martin Luther King Jr Drive. Turn left
at Martin Luther King Boulevard. Take the first left.
Park will be on the right.
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What To Look For
This is the most popular wintertime birding destination on the Cleveland Lakefront. A nearby power plant pumps warm water into Lake Erie at this point, keeping open a sizeable area of open water even when the lake freezes. However, at this point the long-term future of the power plant is not known, and it may shut down, at least partially.
The best birding is between East 55th Street and East 72nd Street; walkways make accessing this area easy. Huge numbers of gulls are often at one's fingertips; at least 15 species have been documented here. A variety of ducks occur, such as Common Goldeneye, Greater Scaup, Common Mergander, Canvasback, and scoters.
This area is always worth a look, and birding is often great between November and March. As open water conditions in mid-winter depend upon warm water discharges from the power plant, and such discharges are becoming less frequent, mid-winter birding conditions may not be as good as in past years. Nonetheless, this section of lakefront routinely draws large numbers of birds, and has a great track record for rarities. |
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Noteworthy Rarities
Rarer gulls occur with regularity, such as Little, Iceland, Glaucous, and Lesser Black-backed gulls, with occasional visits by Black-headed and California gulls and Black-legged Kittiwake. Purple Sandpiper and Red Phalarope are regular visitors, and sometimes a Snowy Owl puts on an appearance. Ohio's only record of Black Guillemot was here, from November 8-11, 1990. Brant, Northern Gannet, King Eider, and Red-necked and Eared grebes are some of the other rarities that have been encountered.
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