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68 - 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.
GPS Coordinates
N 41° 36'13.78"; W 83° 11'32.71"
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.
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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 7-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.
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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.
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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.
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