Favorite Haunts

To a photographer, most of the work of good photography comes in finding just one commodity -- Location, location, location! Once he finds his own "secret" spots, he makes like a ghost -- he returns to his favorite haunts time and time again, each time finding new aspects of the location he had not noticed or captured before. In Favorite Haunts we will feature such areas from Michigan and surrounding midwestern states.

by Walt Fechner

Sometimes a favorite location is not one isolated spot, but a group of places in roughly the same geographical area. Such is the case with the Lake Erie marshes. Take a look at a map of the western end of Lake Erie (right).     From Crane Creek State Park in northwest Ohio around to Point Mouillee State Game Area, south of Michigan's Lake Erie MetroPark, stretch a series of marshes that in spring, late summer and fall are a wildlife bonanza. The area east of Toledo was originally known as the "Great Black Swamp", of which only a small percentage survives. Crane Creek is just east of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Further west is the little known Metzger Marsh, which is a lazy photographer's dream. Rounding out the Ohio part of the Erie Marshes are Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge and Maumee State Park.

Turning to Michigan, just north of the border are the Erie State Game Area, and the Nature Conservancy's Erie Marsh Preserve. Further up the coast is Sterling State Park, which has a lot of resident waterfowl. North of Sterling is the Point Mouillee State Game Area, the best shorebird habitat in Michigan. Lastly (not on the map) is Lake Erie MetroPark, which is probably the best area in the Lower Peninsula to watch hawk migration.

    Perhaps the most fascinating of all these areas is Crane Creek State Park. This features two completely different habitats right next to each other. The first is a half mile drive along Magee Marsh, a remnant of the Black Swamp, from which you might be able to catch hundreds or thousands of migrating waterfowl in a single view. On the north end of the marsh is a strip of beach (the actual State Park!). Between the beach and Magee Marsh is a razor thin wooded area with a half mile boardwalk. This tiny strip of woods is the best area in Ohio for catching migrating songbirds, particularly warblers. The Sportsmen's Migratory Bird Center has informational displays and updates on unusual sightings. Contact Crane Creek State Park at (419) 898-2495 .

A road borders the southern and western edges of the marsh, adjacent to the Cooley Canal (which goes between the marina and Lake Erie). You can cruise this road in March and April and happily photograph legions of ducks and other waterfowl, along with the resident herons, seagulls etc. Birds taking off right next to the road make great action and flight shots.

    Maumee Bay State Park is somewhat commercialized and crowded in summer, but a good destination for waterfowl, the odd hawk and such early arriving birds as red-wing blackbirds. I saw my first horned lark here. There is a boardwalk through a marsh and a decent visitor center. Along the canals bordering streets just outside the park, you can photograph from your car the early arriving egrets and herons.

    All the Ohio sites are off Ohio Route 2. The furthest is 25 miles east of Toledo. From Ann Arbor, take US-23 to I-475 east to I-75 north to I-280 east to Route 2 at Oregon. From Detroit, take I-75 south (or I-275 to I-75) to I-280 east to Route 2 at Oregon.

Our first Michigan stop is the Erie Marsh Preserve of the Nature Conservancy. This area of dikes and flooded fields is shared with the Erie Shooting Club, so the area is closed when hunting season starts (mid to late September usually). This is a good place to come in April and May for shorebirds (also in August for early fall migrants). This year water levels are a bit low, which will expose mud flats for the birds. Several years ago, during a drought I photographed more that twenty herons and egrets feeding together near the only remaining water channel..You can spend many hours in this place, with very few people to bother you. Photographing terns is rather easy, since they tend to hover in one spot before diving down to catch their fish.

    The next Lake Erie point of interest to the north is Sterling State Park. Although it can get crowded in summer, you can get some good shots of kingfishers, herons (green-backed, blue, black-crowned night), egrets, cormorants and waterfowl from a footpath that runs adjacent to some of the waterways in the park. You can also get migrants (songbirds) in the spring and fall.

    April/May is best for spring migrating shorebirds, and August for fall migrants. Come in the late afternoon to the sun is at your back. It is often useful to check the Detroit Auduboon Rare Bird Alert before you come (248) 477-1360.

Point Mouillee, our next stop to the north, is probably the jewel of all the wildlife areas around the western end of Lake Erie (except possibly for Point Pelee in Canada). It consists of a series of dikes encircling fields, marshes, bayous and other wetlands. At its southern end is a man made island known as "The Banana". It is also a marsh restoration project, so you might see such rarites as the secretive, elusive American Bittern (left). However, the main attractions here are the vast numbers of shorebirds and waterfowl which you can encounter.     The dikes areas are organized into "units" for identification, and it is common for wildlife watchers to bring their bicycles to ride the many miles of dikes available. There are two main points of access, one to the north at Sigler Road and one to the south along Roberts Road (maps are available below). The Banana can be reached from either entry point. It has no beach areas, but some ponds in the interior.

    The final stop on our western Lake Erie tour is Lake Erie MetroPark, located at the mouth of the Detroit River. This is one of the best areas in North America for hawk watching. The best times for hawk watching are September and October. The migrating hawk count can exceed a quarter million annually, or 50000 in a single day!

You can imagine the kind of images you could capture on the right day. As many as 30000 broad winged hawks have been observed in one day. Broad wings are early migrants, most numerous in mid September (Sept. 12-20). The greatest variety of hawks occurs in October. Most hawk watching is from the northeast corner of the Great Wave parking lot, and also from the south end of Cove Point Road. The best time for counting is between mid-morning and mid-afternoon, with light to moderate northerly winds and clear skies to broken clouds.

    Lake Erie MetroPark also has some marshy areas with boardswalks that you could explore. This area is around the visitor center and away from the crowded swimming areas. The visitor center is only too happy to provide information on best times for migration watching, and on individual species. The phone numbers are (800) 477-3189 or (313) 379-5020.

    That concludes our trip. For additional maps of the western Lake Erie area, click on "Additional Maps" at the beginning of the article. Here's hoping you adopt the Lake Erie Marshes as one of your favorite haunts. You'll get to know many new friends, from coots (photo below) to yellowlegs (photo above).