05

Paul, we've got some crazy bird action over here.

“Howdy from Magee Marsh, the only reason anyone should ever come to Ohio,” is what I would say if I was currently in Port Clinton for “The Biggest Week in American Birding.” Instead I was there last week, a week early, so I missed the frothing birders and got the ones with a sanity check. It was not quite prime time for the hottest of warblers, but I managed to observe some sexy little songbirds.

Magee Marsh Wildlife Area is a premier migrant bird destination, as 150+ species of warblers and other birds stop at the shoreside wetlands before crossing Lake Erie overnight. I don’t know why Canada gets all of the fun summer birds, but you can add that to your list of reasons why Canada beats the US. Some of these species are a particular treat to see because they travel all the way from South America - my Ohio State ornithology professor specifically studied warblers from Peru, which is probably the most exotic thing about Ohio.

My mom has coopted my lifelong hobbies of birding and photography and become annoyingly successful at them in her retirement so she decided to turn my grandparents’ funerals into a Magee Marsh and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge venture. I haven’t been to Magee Marsh since college so I tagged along.

Some Magee Marsh highlights:

1. We primarily caught the early warblers, like the Palm Warbler, Yellow Rumped Warbler, and a whole lot of Northern Yellow Warblers. We got very unlucky with the weather (lows in the 30s, rain) so that likely slowed the migration down. But I got a godsend Blackburnian Warbler as we were leaving on our final day. I also spotted a few Magnolia Warblers and a Summer Tanager flitting around Duranceau Park in Columbus, which aren’t really special either but they are very pretty. So nothing particularly rare or amazing, but I’m still riding that Boreal Owl high from last summer anyways.

   

2. The Estuary Trail might be even better than the famous boardwalk. You have to be a fairly competent birder, because there are less people to rely on, but it’s a more enjoyable experience overall.

3. My mom has the Swarovski NL Pure 10x42 binoculars, which are so good it kind of hurts to use anything else. I thought my Monarch M511s were the most expensive things in the world when I bought them a decade ago and I’ve since realized that they’re borderline unusable. Are there are Swarovski or Vortex PR folks reading this? Send help.

4. I forgot how to recognize a hermit thrush, which is mortifying because I have a giant hermit thrush tattooed on my arm. Apparently the black and white ink is not very good for identification purposes. Alas, it’s not Audubon quality.

5. Just about everyone was using Merlin’s sound ID, which is a handy little feature that picks up the birds that are calling around you and identifies them. I learned my Ohio bird calls from a CD at my desk (ancient) and by making little phrases for them (a robin says “cheerio,” a red eyed vireo says “here I am, where are you,” and so on), which made all of my college roommates hate me even more and I’ve mostly forgotten 15 years later.

   While scrolling through the app and waiting for my mom to catch up, two boomer bros walked by me and told me I was cheating. Almost every other person there was using it but yes, single out the younger solo woman. I responded that people had to learn somehow and that blessedly ended the convo but I was irritated for the rest of the morning. My also-boomer mom dismissively said “oh, he was just flirting,” which was an excellent reminder that all boomers are genuinely nuts.

   I consulted people who bird more than I do and the consensus is that no, it’s not cheating, stfu. His comment made me a little self conscious about using the app the rest of the day and I can only imagine how uncomfortable newer birders would feel in that situation. Birding is one of those rare outdoor activities where people of any age, physical ability, and skill can participate, and you can do it anywhere. Frankly, Ohio isn’t cool enough to gatekeep anything so I would like to see dudes like that pushed off the boardwalk.

I love to see birding becoming kind of popular because it was decidedly not cool when I was growing up and I ended up smothering that interest for decades. I was admittedly still one of the only youngish people at Magee Marsh though, so the sport could still stand to spread more. It’s a hard thing to justify when we’re all suffocating under capitalism’s time demands and it doesn’t contribute to my overall health the way running and biking do, but it’s one worth squeezing in, even if just in the backyard.

So here are my eBird checklists, which is the only reason any of us are out there, right? My boss said I’m eBirding wrong because I didn’t tag the Magee Marsh hotspot, but getting me to import my manual list from my Notes app is as good as it gets.

photos by my mom

Things to get you birding right now:

1. A backyard bird feeder - suet for the woodpeckers, black sunflower seeds for the others. I learned the hard way that Home Depot seeds are crazy overpriced–go to your local Tractor Supply or bird-specific store.

2. Binoculars - if you can afford Swarovski or Vortex, hell yeah. If not, Monarchs are generally recommended. I would reddit what models people actually recommend though because my M511s are not it.

3. Merlin app for identification and learning, eBird for checklists (although I just use the desktop checklists). It helps to download the bird packs for your area. I love a good bird book and generally resist apps but these are just too convenient.

4. eBird rare bird email lists for your county and state. Google it!

5. Listers documentary - stay tuned for their Ivory Billed Woodpecker doc supposed to come out this spring??

Writing

What is Muscovy? Your Guide to the Giant Ugly Duck That’s Saving Down Gear

Is Women’s Ski Apparel Finally Getting Good?

How Ultralight Backpacking Pioneer Gossamer Gear Found Its Edge Again

How “What Happened” Makes the Most Sought After Backpacks by Mountain Pros

Reading

On the Calculation of Volume - Solvej Balle

North Woods - Daniel Mason (finished this a while ago but just have to emphasize how amazing it is)