Maumee Bay Lodge & Conference Center – May 2, 2026
It was one week before The Biggest Week in American Birding. I had to work the night before, so we didn’t arrive at our starting point until just after 11 a.m. Our original plan was to stay until around 4-ish, then head back to be home in time for the Kentucky Derby. My dear friend, who was meeting us to show us the ropes said okay, but I could tell she was laughing a bit on the inside. Like, “oh, okay… we’ll see about that…”
After spending a few minutes watching some of the birds hanging around the lodge, including Common Grackles and Purple Martins, we headed toward Howard Marsh Metropark. Our travels took us all along the coastal marshes of Lake Erie in northeastern Ohio.
One of my favorite moments came when my daughter spotted an American White Pelican floating far out on the lake. I had no idea they came so far north! Apparently, they breed in Canada, although it is uncommon that they migrate through this particular area. Later in the day, we saw four of them flying overhead.
Another highlight was watching the Bald Eagle nest from different angles while walking along the Magee Marsh Bird Trail. Every time we passed it, I took a ton of pictures of Mom tending her babies. I can’t even tell you how many different pictures I have of her head poking up from the top of the nest. However, my obsession paid off. I was taking some pictures of her when Dad showed up, swooping into the nest with dinner! At first, we didn’t even notice the fish in his talons. Through my camera, it looked like I got a single awkward shot of him with his wings splayed, but mostly off camera. My daughter saw the whole thing through her binoculars. It wasn’t until we looked closer at the pictures on my camera that my daughter exclaimed, “Oh my god, he brought a fish!” What an awesome moment for all of us!
Throughout the day, we saw 52 different bird species! Some of them we’d seen before, and some of them were spotted for the first time. In addition to the eagles and pelicans, my favorite birds of the day were the Black-necked Stilt, Caspian Terns, Green Herons, and of course Great Egrets. We also saw Tree and Barn Swallows flitting around; Red-headed, Downy, and Hairy Woodpeckers climbing the trees; plus Rusty Blackbirds, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a Northern Flicker, a Belted Kingfisher, and so many more.
At some point, we were coming up on our tentative departure time. That time came and went. Closer to 6:57—the Kentucky Derby race time—we found a bench to sit on so we could watch the race on my Twin Spires app. Following “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” we went back to studying the trees. By the time we finally called it a day, it was around 8 p.m., and we were off in search of something to put in our bellies. My friend—the same one who laughed at our plan to leave around four—said she’d never stayed out birding quite that late before. We all had an amazing time, and I learned so much from my friend and my daughter that I could never put it all into one single blog post.
Unfortunately, my daughter and I didn’t make it back to Ohio for The Biggest Week in American Birding this year. We had too many other obligations filling our planners. But next year? This event definitely gets first dibs.