Baltimore Orioles, Yellow Warblers, and Red Winged Blackbirds Abundant in Mentor, Ohio

We made the rounds of the best birding places in Mentor Ohio on Sunday. The weather was sunny and slightly cool, but the birds were very active. At Mentor Headlands State Park on the dunes trail, we saw many Yellow Warblers and one Black-Throated Green Warbler. All of the warblers were very active, stopping only for seconds, barely enough time to get the camera to focus. I managed to get one photo of the Yellow Warbler as it sang. At the Mentor Marsh Wake Robin Trail, the Red-Winged Blackbirds were more than happy to pose. And at Veterans Park, one gorgeous Baltimore Oriole stopped to preen while others flew by. Here are a few photos.

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Least Sandpipers Rest; Red-Winged Blackbirds Flood Wake Robin Trail

I’m finally getting caught up on photos that I took earlier in the month. I visited Wake Robin Trail in Mentor Ohio a few weeks ago, and arrived on a day that was filled with red-winged blackbirds. They were everywhere, sitting on the dry cattails that lined the trail. Most of the Mentor Marsh is filled with invasive phragmites - tall grasses that love brackish water. The area lining the trail has been cleared and replanted with things like cattails, grasses, and wildflowers that were native to the area before the phragmites took over. This has encouraged more unusual birds to stop by during migration. (It's a long story about how the water turned brackish, which made perfect conditions for the phragmites to thrive.) The trail is an excellent area for birding, especially during migration. I think I arrived on the day that all the red-winged blackbirds came home. But amidst all of those red wings, I did catch a pair of least sandpipers hanging out in some shallow water. Here are a few photos.  (Click on any image for a larger view.)

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Migrating Monarchs, a Fiery Skipper, and Vervain

The Monarch butterflies are on the move south, and their numbers are increasing on the areas near the shores of Lake Erie. Monarchs were all over the place when we visited the Mentor Headlands Dunes and the Mentor Marsh Wake Robin Trail this past week.

While at the Wake Robin Trail, we saw two people who were taking notes about what they were observing. We asked what they were tracking, and one woman responded that they were tracking the Fiery Skipper, a small yellow butterfly. Since there is work being done to restore the area by the Wake Robin Trail back to its fresh water habitat, they were watching how it will affect the Fiery Skipper population. Earlier on the trail, one had landed in front of me and I had taken its photo. The woman also identified a pretty purple flowering plant as Vervain.

Here are a few photos of the Monarchs, the Fiery Skipper, and Vervain, plus other wildlife and plants.















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Mentor Marsh: Wake Robin, Kerven, & Zimmerman Trails

A long spell of sunny, dry weather over the last two weeks made it ideal to explore the nature trails in my home town. There are several trails that skirt, and go into, the Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, which is adjacent to the Mentor Headlands Beach State Park on Lake Erie in Mentor, Ohio. The marsh is a remnant of an ancient riverbed of the nearby Grand River. There are several trails in the area, some better than others for viewing the marsh and/or for birding.

The Zimmerman Trail is two miles long, and we began at the Headlands Drive entrance. We only ventured about ¾ of a mile onto the trail. From the Headlands entrance, the trail is a simple dirt/mud trail, very wooded, hilly, and sometimes not very visible due to a few downed trees. We could hear several birds in the area but could not see many because of the heavy foliage. Since the weather had been dry the trail was very dry, but it is evident that the trail would get messy with wet weather. We did not check out the Rosemary Lane entrance to this trail. There is a very nice view of a marsh pond area on Headlands Drive below the entrance of the trail.

The Kerven Trail, located on Corduroy Road, is also heavily wooded, but has a nice overlook of the Mentor Marsh. The trail to the overlook is not well marked and we found the overlook by accident. We realized on the way back to the beginning of the trail that we had to go on the butterfly meadow path in order to easily get to the overlook.

The nicest trail is the Wake Robin Trail, which is a boardwalk that runs through the marsh itself. There is a short but steep hill with a dirt trail which leads to the boardwalk, so be prepared for this short trek down. (There are plans to connect the boardwalk with another overlook nearby which will allow easy access for all.) We spent quite a bit of time on this short (.35 mile) boardwalk because it was very peaceful and there was a great view of all the different marsh plants, insects, and birds in the area. The height of the phragmites - the tall reeds that have invaded the marsh – is very evident once you are in the marsh at ground level; some easily reached 15-20 feet. Phragmites are not native to this area and over the years they have choked off the natural vegetation in the marsh. There is an effort to restore Mentor’s Marsh’s native habitat around the area of the boardwalk, much to the delight of birds (and humans too).

We also spent some time at the Mentor Lagoons Trails and the Mentor Headlands Dunes Nature Preserve Trail and I will post those photos in the near future. In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy these photos – some in black and white – from the Zimmerman, Kerven, and Wake Robin trails.

Zimmerman Trail

Kerven Trail

Wake Robin Trail

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An Icy Lake Erie & An Eagle’s Nest In Mentor Ohio

All photos © chrisazimmer, chriszimmer.blogspot.com

It seems like forever since we had a full day of clear skies and sunshine here. The winter months usually bring long, endless streaks of skies that are battleship gray in color, thanks to Lake Erie. With the sky a brilliant blue today, and lots of snow still on the ground, it was a good day for a visit to nearby Mentor Headlands Beach to see a frozen Lake Erie.

A special bonus along the way was seeing an eagle’s nest in the Mentor Marsh, less than a mile from the entrance to Mentor Headlands State Park. The nest is very visible from Route 44, and while this time of year the traffic is very light there, it is still not a good place to stop and bird watch. I was lucky to spot the nest on the way to the beach, so I was able to find the spot easily on the way out of Headlands. There was no traffic at all, so I stopped and took two quick photos of the nest, but no eagles were in sight. (It has been confirmed that they are indeed nesting there.)

Here are some photos of a very frozen Lake Erie and a very cold-looking beach, along with the eagle’s nest. I am so thankful to have such wonderful sights just a few miles from home.

(Click on any photo for a larger view.)

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