East+Harbor+State+Park


 * =Birding in Ohio=

Ottawa County
Also, see Catawba Island and Biggest Week in American Birding =East Harbor State Park= 1169 North Buck Road Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio 43440 East Harbor State Park website East Harbor State Park (Coastal Access) webpage East Harbor State Park map East Harbor State Park trail map

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East Harbor SP
Coordinates: 41.5464755, -82.8180313 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

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

East Harbor SP--Middle Harbor
Coordinates: 41.5559006, -82.8103309 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

East Harbor SP--Offshore
Coordinates: 41.5568403, -82.7984378 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

East Harbor SP--West Harbor Trail
Coordinates: 41.5590134, -82.8157997 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

East Harbor SP--Wetlands Trail
Coordinates: 41.5491098, -82.8001005 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

Tips for birding East Harbor State Park
From Lake Erie Birding Trail website From Ohio Ornithological Society website

In 2013 Middle Harbor provided excellent habitat for viewing shorebirds. Birders reported good views of birds from the Middle Harbor trail along the south edge of Middle Harbor. There is an observation deck which may be accessed from the picnic area at the southwest corner of Middle Harbor. Birders also reported good views from the trail at the parking lot at the end of North Buck Road. (See the state park map to the right.)

To access this area, continue on Buck Road past the park entrance, and then past the park marina until you reach a small parking lot at the end of the road. You can walk out along the dike and view the harbor (you will be looking eastward, so you may wish to plan your visit according to the sun's angle).

Continuing down the dike you will reach a wooded area that can be a nice migrant trap.

East Harbor is about a half hour east of Magee Marsh, just a few miles off OH-2. Other productive areas for migrants are the southern edge of Middle Harbor (park in the small lot near the pond), and the South Beach trail, especially on 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. The tall trees along the two-way road that connects the entrance and exit roads (opposite the park office building entering, just past the pond exiting) can also be good. 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

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Photo by Judy Semroc

Photo by Photo by Vic Fazio

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