Length of Tour
7-Days/6-Nights
Brief Itinerary
Day 1 – Charleston, WEST VIRGINIA (CRW) arrivals and drive to New River Gorge.
Day 2 – New River Gorge, WV; Buery Mountain, WV; Crown City, OH
Day 3 – Shawnee State Forest, OH; Edge of Appalachia, OH
Day 4 – Edge of Appalachia, OH; Kiwanis Riverpark, OH; Glacier Ridge, OH; Magee Marsh, OH
Day 5 – Magee Marsh, OH; Pearson Metropark, OH; Maumee Bay SP, OH
Day 6 – Magee Marsh; Afternoon departures from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 – Charleston, WEST VIRGINIA (CRW) arrivals and drive to New River Gorge.
Arrive as early as possible today at CRW. Once everyone has arrived we will drive to our first hotel in time for dinner. Night in Oak Hill, WV.
Day 2 – New River Gorge, WV; Buery Mountain, WV; Crown City, OH
We will visit the New River Gorge area seeking Swainson’s Warbler. Other birds present may include Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-throated and Hooded Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Parula, and Eastern Towhee. The Gorge is a very scenic area as well.
At nearby Buery Mountain WMA we’ll look for migrants, but especially for Golden-winged, Prairie, Yellow-throated, and Black-throated Blue Warblers. More than 20 species of warblers have been reported here in this season according to eBird. We might get lucky and hear a Ruffed Grouse drumming in the forest. It will be hard to ignore such beauties as Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting. Common Raven, Hermit Thrush, and Blue-headed Vireo are possible here, too.
In the afternoon we will drive back to southern Ohio and visit Crown City Wildlife Area. There is edge habitat and some open, grassland areas. Along the streams we will search for Yellow-throated Warbler and Louisiana Waterthrush. On the adjacent hillsides we’ll look for Wood Thrush, Ovenbird, and Worm-eating Warbler. The edge habitat is good for Yellow-breasted Chat, Prairie Warbler, and Blue Grosbeak. The open grasslands here have a small population of Henslow’s Sparrows. Other grassland birds include Grasshopper, Savannah, and Field Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Kingbird, Brown Thrasher, and Northern Bobwhite. Night in Portsmouth, OH.
Day 3 – Shawnee State Forest, OH; Edge of Appalachia, OH
Shawnee State Forest is over 60,000 acres of hilly, forested land near the Ohio River. The forest is managed for timber providing for a number of different habitats for a diverse set of birds. This area has one of the larger breeding populations of Cerulean Warbler in the United States—one of the targets here, of course. Amazingly, more than 30 species of warblers have been recorded here in May according to eBird! Some of the warblers that can be harder to find at Magee Marsh include Yellow-throated Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Pine Warbler, and Yellow-breasted Chat (Ok. It’s no longer a warbler, but I am still including it in the grouping here). Other birds we may find could be Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos, Broad-winged Hawk, Hairy Woodpecker, Acadian Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, and Scarlet Tanager.
After a full day in Shawnee, we’ll stop for dinner. About an hour before dark we’ll head west to Adams County for some night birding. The highlight is listening for a possible Chuck-will’s-widow. It’s the only spot they breed in Ohio. Hopefully, we’ll get to add Eastern Whip-poor-will and Barred Owl, too. Night in Portsmouth, OH.
Day 4 – Edge of Appalachia, OH; Kiwanis Riverpark, OH; Glacier Ridge, OH; Magee Marsh, OH
We’ll get a leisurely start this morning since we had a long day yesterday. Our day will begin where we left off the night before—Edge of Appalachia. Only this time we will visit during the day. We’ll have another shot at Blue Grosbeak. Prairie Warblers breed here in abundance. And we may get lucky and see a displaying Yellow-breasted Chat. It is wonderfully entertaining to watch this clown totally go bonkers in a dramatic display!
Afterwards, we will begin our drive north toward Lake Erie and the Disneyworld of Warblers—Magee Marsh. We will make a couple pit stops in the Columbus area to break up the long drive. Kiwanis Riverpark in Dublin, Ohio has some nest boxes for Prothonotary Warblers. Wood Ducks may be here, too. In nearby Glacier Ridge Metro Park we will have a chance to see some early-arriving Bobolinks. Other good birds can be found here, but we will probably not linger as the tractor beam of warblers at Lake Erie will be tugging at us, too.
Our warbler GPS will take us directly to Magee Marsh Wildlife Area and we will get our first taste of the Warbler Show. This is my very favorite place to be in May on the North American Continent. It is one place I return to every year like a pilgrimage—I’ve been doing this for over 30 years now. And I never get tired of see the ornaments that decorate the trees in Northwest Ohio—the warblers. It is spring time and their plumages are bright and dazzling and their cheerful songs fill the air with a lightness that is otherworldly. Night in Oregon, OH.
Day 5 – Magee Marsh, OH; Pearson Metropark, OH; Maumee Bay SP, OH
We will head back out to Warblerpolooza! We’ll explore the boardwalk again and maybe some of the area trails. Birding here can be amazing.
After tearing ourselves away we’ll venture over to nearby Pearson Metropark. The feeder setup is convenient and comfortable and sometimes warblers come in to bathe in the little pool. Indigo Buntings occasionally frequent the feeders as do Baltimore Orioles, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. Purple Finches may linger into May and this is a good place to find them. The park can have quite an array of migrants depending on weather conditions.
The last stop of the day will be Maumee Bay State Park. The shoreline of the small lake might have gulls and terns and the Lake Erie shore can hold surprises. Migrants can be decent here, too. And we’ll look for Eastern Screech-Owls peeking out of nest boxes along the boardwalk. If there is enough interest we can return here after dinner at dusk to see timberdoodles—American Woodcock performing their aerial displays. Night in Oregon, OH.
Day 6 – Magee Marsh; Afternoon departures from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
*Those staying for the Biggest Week in American Birding festival can continue birding. For folks not staying for the festival, we will return to the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) in Detroit by noon for afternoon departures.
