East+Harbor+State+Park+Beach+Ridge

Also, see East Harbor State Park
 * =Birding in Ohio=

Ottawa County
=East Harbor State Park= =Beach Ridge= Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio 43440 East Harbor State Park website East Harbor State Park map

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East Harbor SP--Beach Ridge
Coordinates: 41.546663,-82.794444 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

Tips for birding the East Harbor State Park Beach Ridge
The beach ridge trails can be productive for migrants, especially the path along the beach ridge (not shown on the map, it is along the area labeled "storm damaged area, no swimming") or the old roadway that parallels this path. From Sheryl Young

About East Harbor State Park
Encompassing 1,831 acres, East Harbor is one of the hidden jewels of lakefront birding hotspots. Its varied habitats include sandy beaches, sheltered bays, open waters of Lake Erie, marshes, shrubland, and swamp forest. Many rarities have been found, including Western Tanager and Magnificent Frigatebird. Songbird fallouts can be spectacular both spring and fall, with nearly every regularly occurring warbler appearing annually, and often in good numbers. The beach attracts a diversity of gulls and terns, including Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian, and Forster's terns. The protected harbors can teem with waterfowl in March and November. Northern Goshawk has been seen regularly in winter.

East Harbor State Park is situated on a peninsula of land stretching into the waters of Lake Erie--one of the largest freshwater bodies in the world. The history of Lake Erie began with the glacial period when massive sheets of ice gouged and scoured the bedrock of Ohio. Evidence of the force of the ice is found throughout the lake area. Small scratches in the rock surface known as glacial striations are common while major grooves are rare but awesome. The deep depressions left by the glaciers were filled with meltwater forming the series of lakes we know as the Great Lakes.

East Harbor lies on the fringe of Ohio's prairie marsh zone. These wetlands are remnants of the Great Black Swamp which once covered an area 120 miles long and 30 to 40 miles wide. After a period of intense lumbering and draining in the late 1800s, the swamp was nearly destroyed. Only ten percent of Ohio's original wetlands now remain. These wetlands produce more wildlife than any other type of habitat in Ohio. Reptiles and amphibians are numerous including the green frog, American toad, water snake, fox snake and painted turtle. Large numbers of ducks, geese, gulls, terns and other migratory waterfowl delight birdwatchers. Middle Harbor is a game sanctuary where black-crowned night herons, egrets, great blue herons and other shorebirds find refuge. Furbearers in the park include muskrat and red fox. Hundreds of migrating songbirds rest here before winging north across the lake. From East Harbor State Park website

Ovenbird Photo by Ian Gardner || media type="custom" key="27340784"

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|| L1456634 US US-OH US-OH-123 41.546663 -82.794444 East Harbor SP--Beach Ridge