Birds bring birdwatchers and they bring money. Cars were on hand displaying plates from Maryland, Oregon, Michigan, Pennsylvania and more [Alaska]. That kind of spending is feathering the nest of local business owners.
Giff Beaton drove all the way from Atlanta, despite high gas prices. "Our hotel is in Oregon (Ohio). We are staying here for a week. We are buying gas and eating all our meals here." Jay Bousliman is the owner of the Garden Restaurant. He says, "It's a significant boost to our bottom line. But more than that, we enjoy the bond we form with these folks." Lance Woodworth pilots the Jet Express ferry service.
"We took 170 people across [Lake Erie to Point Pelee, Canada], birdwatchers. I took one step up from novice to intermediate birdwatcher myself." Bill Yuhasz owns the Kokomo Bay restaurant. He told us, "We had a group of birders staying at a local motel and they've been in our restaurant five times. So this really has a big impact."
More than 10,000 people turned out Saturday for International Migratory Bird Day. How much money do they spend? The last economic study of birders here was ten years ago. Even then, they spent several million dollars.Every spring, I meet people from all over the U.S. who stay anywhere from one week to six weeks in northwest Ohio to birdwatch. The first three weeks of May are the peak time for bird numbers, variety, and visitors.
It's not just about seeing nature for Kaufman. The BSBO is about infecting people with a passion for wildlife.
"We've been doing all this research, we have all this knowledge about migration, about this rich resource, now we want to take it to the kids. We want to share it with them, inspire them, the next generation, to protect all of these valuable resources that we have," she says.
The marsh at Magee Marsh that most birders drive by as they make their way to the tiny woodlot that holds the songbirds as described in the above photo.
Sometimes the birding on the boardwalk is shoulder to shoulder.
More room to maneuver on the outside edge in the parking lot.
May 13, 2008 Ohio birds e-mail listserv posting :
http://www.kiwifoto.com/galleries/ohio2008.html
I wish I could have spent more time there but there's always next spring!!
Cheers,
Christopher TaylorTaylor's May 12, 2008 blog posting :
Here are some of Taylor's photos of birds you can see now at Magee Marsh and sometimes in the trees and bushes in your own yard during the month of May. The mature oak trees in and around our West Toledo home held 11 species of warblers on Tuesday morning of this week.
Magnolia Warbler (my favorite warbler)
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Ovenbird Warbler
Female Prothonotary Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Redstart Warbler
Warblers may be the main attraction at Magee Marsh during the month of may, but plenty of other songbird groups are present too, such as vireos, flycatchers, thrushes, sparrows, orioles, tanagers, finches, and more.
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current date: 07-Jan-2009 1:41 P.M.