OAK HARBOR, OH - Magee Marsh State Wildlife Area has again received national attention with the October issue of Birders World magazine ranking the Ottawa County site the ninth best birding location in North America. In 2000, Wild Bird Magazine rated Magee Marsh in the top ten, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
We are proud of this national recognition and of the dedicated biologists who have managed Magee Marsh State Wildlife Area into becoming one of the countrys top bird watching regions and a premier waterfowl hunting destination, said Mike Budzik, chief of ODNRs Division of Wildlife.
Magee Marsh provides spectacular birding opportunities from several different vantage points. Bird watchers can view a diversity of birds from their automobile, while walking nearly two miles of paths and boardwalks, or from an observation tower overlooking the marsh. The area also features a new warbler exhibit in addition to interpretive and birding identification signs.
Whether its warblers, shorebirds, waterfowl or bald eagles, you can find them at Magee, said Laura Busby, acting executive director of Audubon Ohio. The fantastic birds and their habitat are the qualities responsible for Magees designation as an Audubon Important Bird Area. It is truly a magnificent place to go birding.
Magee Marshs Sportsmans Migratory Bird Center is another popular spot with visitors to the 2,000-acre state wildlife area. The bird center includes an assortment of displays on bird identification and the history of the area. It also includes mounted specimens of birds that reside or migrate through Ohio wetlands, historical information and artifacts of the Lake Erie marsh region and a unique assortment of antique waterfowl decoys.
Land to create the state wildlife area along Lake Erie's southwestern shores in Ottawa County was purchased by the ODNR Division of Wildlife in the 1950s, with funds derived from the sale of hunting, fishing and trapping licenses. The area is managed to provide habitat for a diversity of wildlife species, especially wetland dependant species including waterfowl, herons, bitterns, shorebirds and many endangered species including trumpeter swans and bald eagles. The area is open to the public for a variety of wildlife related recreational opportunities including hunting, birding and wildlife photography.
The Magee Marsh State Wildlife Area is located 17 miles west of Port Clinton on State Route 2 between State Routes 19 and 590, and is open to visitors from sunrise to sunset. The Sportsmans Migratory Bird Center is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday hours are offered, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. from March through November. Call 419-898-0960, extension 31 for more information.