MAGEE MARSH WILDLIFE AREA (WITH CRANE CREEK STATE PARK) ====================================================================== 1a. BEST ROUTE, ANN ARBOR TO CRANE CREEK To: birders@umich.edu From: ylime@umich.edu (Karen Markey) Subject: Crane Creek directions Drive south on US 23 and cross into Ohio. (Just 2.6) miles over the state line, exit to the LEFT onto I-475 east. Drive about 6 miles on I-475 east. Exit onto I-75 north (yes, I wrote I-75 NORTH, it really goes EAST here) and drive about 3 miles. Exit onto I-280 east (or south -- toward Cleveland) and drive about 5 miles. Exit onto Navarre Ave. (at Oregon, Ohio) which is Ohio Route 2. Turn left (east) onto Navarre Ave. and drive about (18) miles. (...) You will see the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge first on your left, followed (in 0.5 miles) by Crane Creek on your left. Nature Center at Crane Creek is open from 8 am to 5 pm. The trip was 75 miles for me -- about 90 minutes. [It's 75 minutes measured from U.S. 23 at Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor. BMB] BTW, Crane Creek doesn't have the most wonderful "modern" facilities so you might want to stop at the fast-food joints on Navarre Avenue (after you exit from I-280) before you drive the (18) miles east on Ohio Rt. 2. Just a thought for those of us tied to civilization. [There are port-a-potties in the parking lot near the boardwalk. Restroom facilities in the Visitor's Center, which is open 8:00am-5:00pm, are satisfactory. The Visitor's Center opens at 11:00am on Sundays. BMB] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1B. SECOND BEST ROUTE, ANN ARBOR TO CRANE CREEK - Woodville bridge route Get off I-475 East after about seven miles at I-75 SOUTH. Almost immediately you will see the Detroit St./U.S. 24 exit. Pass it by. After 2.1 miles on I-75 South get off at the Washington St. exit. Stay on Washington for 1.0 miles into downtown Toledo. You'll come to a "T" at Summit St. Turn right on Summit (following the sign for Hwy 51). Go about three blocks (0.3 mi) and turn left at Clayton (traffic light). This takes you immediately onto the Woodville Rd. bridge. Across the bridge continue on Woodville Rd. for 1.3 miles to Hwy 2 (Navarre Avenue). Turn left onto Navarre and continue 19.2 miles east to Crane Creek/Magee Marsh. 1c. THIRD BEST ROUTE, ANN ARBOR TO CRANE CREEK Here's a route I've tried. It's good early in the morning, when you'll sail through the traffic lights on Ohio 184, but Karen's route above is still better. from Ann Arbor: U.S. 23 south to Ohio 184 (at Sylvania) Ohio 184 straight east for 9-10 miles Get on I-75 and go south to I-280 I-280 south to Oregon exit (exit 7, Ohio 2) Ohio 2 east to Crane Creek Ohio 184 (Monroe Street) cuts across about 2-3 miles north of I-465. Bruce -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. ROMULUS AND POINTS EASTWARD TO CRANE CREEK, WHEN ALL ROADS ARE OPEN Take I-75 south from the Detroit area or take I-275 south and connect with I-75 South. Continue to I-280 South. Get off at Exit 7 (Navarre/Oregon) and continue to Crane Creek as described in 1a. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. CRANE CREEK TO ANN ARBOR, ALL ROADS OPEN Reverse the route of 1a. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. CRANE CREEK TO ROMULUS AND POINTS EASTWARD, ALL ROADS OPEN Reverse the route of 2. ================================================================= SOME GENERAL INFORMATION From the Navarre/Oregon/Ohio Hwy 2 exit (Exit 7), follow Ohio Hwy 2 east (17.8 miles) to Crane Creek State Park, which will be on your left half a mile past the Ottawa Nat'l Wildlife Refuge (it's a couple miles or so before the Nuclear Power chimney Stack you'll see while travelling east on Hwy 2). Drive to the back of the park. (Just follow the road.) That's where the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area is. There's also a hawk watch tower near the entrance to the park. Figure on 1 hr 15 min to get to Crane Creek SP from Ann Arbor. Regarding other places along that stretch of Hwy 2: In order out of Toledo as you're driving east, they are (1) Maumee Bay State Park, (2) Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area, (3) Krause Road wildlife observation parking area, (4) Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, (5) Crane Creek State Park (Magee Marsh Wildlife Area), (6) Turtle Creek (a mile beyond Crane Creek State Park--shorebirds and waders), and (7) Toussaint Wildlife Area (two miles beyond Crane Creek and two miles south on Highway 19). [New, 2004: wildlife observation deck on Stange Rd. near Krause Rd.] Crane Creek can be crowded on weekends in early to mid May. Don't worry about that, though. If the weather is good and the birding forecast is good, go! If there are lots and lots of birders there, all the better. More eyes and ears will find more birds. The phone number for Crane Creek State Park is 419-898-0960 ext 31. The naturalist there is Mary Warren . Bruce bbowman@umich.edu --------------------------------------------- GAS PRICES For at least three years in a row now, gas in the Toledo area is about 10 cents per gallon cheaper than in southeast Michigan. If you're making trips to Crane Creek, you can save on gas by buying in Oregon or east of Oregon on Highway 2. You can save an additional three cents per gallon by using your Kroger's card at the Kroger's gas station on Highway 2 in Oregon. BMB 5-5-2005 --------------------------------------------- ACCOMMODATIONS AND MORE Comfort Inn (Oregon) -- There is a Comfort Inn on Hwy 2 (Navarre St.) maybe a mile east of I-280. You'll see the sign, but the motel is about a block off Navarre (south side) and isn't very noticeable from Navarre. The Comfort Inn is about 20 miles from Crane Creek State Park. Call (419) 691-8911 for reservations. 2930 Navarre Ave., Oregon, OH 43616 http://www.oregon-ohio.super-hotels.net/comfort-inn-east.html Stony Ridge Inn (Toledo) -- Not outstanding but clean and half the price of some other motels. It is at exit 1B on I-280, which is six miles south of the Hwy 2/Navarre exit. For some reason the signs say Super-8 or some such franchise name. It is a trucker stop and has a very large parking lot. Hotel name: Stony Ridge Inn Address: 3491 Latcha Road Toledo, OH 43447 Phone number: 419-837-6409 Total number of guests: 2 Total number of rooms: 1 room Comfortable room with 2 double beds. Enjoy our lounge and game room. Rate description: Best available rate comfortable room with 2 double beds. Rate per night: $44.95 H. D. Ellis Inn (Blissfield, Michigan) -- Whether you'll be birding for a couple of days or a week or more at Crane Creek State Park and area, and you don't mind an easy 45-minute drive to Crane Creek, consider staying at the H. D. Ellis Inn--a beautiful bed and breakfast--in southeast Michigan, not far from Toledo. http://www.ellisinn.com/ Waterfowl Lodge -- Two tenths of a mile from Crane Creek State Park! Just down the road to the west. Day or weekly rentals. Small. Only two or three rooms? (419) 898-6906. Lake Erie Lodge -- If you want to stay overnight somewhere near, there's only one option, I think, unless you want to stay in Oregon (just east of Toledo). It's the Lake Erie Lodge a bit west of the small unincorporated town of Bono. It's 1 1/2 miles north of Hwy 2. Turn off Hwy 2 at Teachout Road at a burger place called "D.G.'s". The Lake Erie Lodge is near the water. It has a restaurant and good breakfasts. (The last time I was there the food was not so good and service was dreadfully slow.) It's used mostly by fishermen, hunters, and birders. With the fisherman-hunter-birder discount, the current rate is $55.95 plus tax for two (May 2005). "D.G.'s" is seven miles west of Crane Creek State Park and about a mile west of Metzger Marsh. The phone number for the Lake Erie Lodge is (419) 836-2822. The address is 10530 Corduroy Rd., Curtice, OH 43412-9476. (See maps at web site or simply follow the directions above. On the maps the large green area to the east of the Lake Erie Lodge is Crane Creek SP and the Ottawa NWR. The large green area to the west is Maumee Bay SP.) Each room at the Lake Erie Lodge has two full- sized beds, a microwave, and a coffee maker. The rooms are simple but clean. Lake Erie Lodge is used mostly by hunters and fishermen. There's a bar at the east end of the building. Ask for a room as far away from the bar as possible, as the music can get pretty loud. Rent a home -- I was told yesterday (4-24-2004) that there is a new development off Hwy 2 between Crane Creek and the power plant towers to the east where it's possible to rent a home for a month. Sorry, I don't have the name of this place or a telephone number for getting a rental--and this possibility may not last past this year--but this may be a good opportunity for people who come to Crane Creek to bird for an entire month. BMB Camping -- See below. From: "Heather Slayton" To: birders@umich.edu Subject: Fwd: Magee Marsh (longish) Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 16:19:23 -0000 Reply-to: "Heather Slayton" I received this from Vic Fazio, an Ohio birder, in response to my question of camping accomodations, etc around Crane Creek/Magee Marsh. I got way more than I bargained for and I thought it'd be of interest to our birders... --------------- Hi Heather The closest campground is Camp Sabroske - it is actually in the heart of the region's birding. It is a private wooded (in as much as the area is wooded). There is an active eagle nest literally across the road from it. And the adjacent mudflat was home to 140 Pectoral Sandpipers last week. Assuming you will come in from the west on Rt. 2 go past the entrance to Magee Marsh (which for political reasons is marked only for Crane Creek State Park). The next few roads going south off Rt. 2 are Benton-Carroll Darsch Lemon Bodi in that order. All lead to interesting backroad birding possibilities/ flooded fields etc. The most direct road to Sabroske is Lemon Rd. About a mile south from Rt. 2 it crosses Turtle Creek - check for shorebirds. They come and go here but Marbled Godwit was among the birds here last week. Cross the bridge and look left past a small cemetery. You should see the sign for Sabroske. Take the short jog (briefly on Duff-Washa) heading south again - the camp ground is another mile or less. From there you can also access another wildlife area - Toussaint. This series of diked impoundments can be good for late ducks, rails, snipe, even songbirds. One can walk up very close to the Sabroske nest. Travel south on the road from Camp Sabroske. Make a left and cross the upper reaches of the Toussaint River. make another left then another - which then jogs right. This will bring you to the parking lot for Toussaint. I am sure the locals can help you clarify these directions. From the parking lot head east again to Rt. 19. Head north again on 19 - this will take you past the fisherman's access portion of the Toussaint W.A. - can be great for shorebirds if the water has been blown out on SW'ly winds. Always worth pulling in and checking the mud margins. Had Marbled Godwit last week and a Ruff this time last year. Rt. 19 north will take you back to Rt. 2 completing a loop. Left at Rt. 2 will take you past Turtle Creek W.A. Most of this area is off-limits due to eagles nesting. However, there is a small public access area from which you may scope out additional mudflat for shorebirds. Back at Magee - the routine for many of us is to make a point of hitting the causeway or one of the surrounding marshes (I like Mallard Club Marsh but its 20 minutes back toward Toledo) at first light for bitterns/rail and woodcocks. Make it out to the WEST end of the parking lot at Magee/Crane Creek S.P. by 7:00 am. (Virtually everyone arrives about 8:00 even on the busiest May days). There is a morning flight of stuff along the lakeshore that can be amazing. The pipits, jays, goldfinches etc. are typically overlooked. Even Red-headed Woodpeckers may be on the move - something which surprises most everyone who do not think of them as migrants (I've had 25 in a morning). Also watch the row of trees at the end of the parking lot as the morning wave departs the area. One can rack up the warblers this way. Dozens sometimes hundreds of warblers are gone from the area by the time the bulk of the early biding crowd has arrived. Indeed if the sun is shining and ] especially if the wind is from the south*, most everyone spends the next 2-3 hours working the outside edge of the woods before going on the trail. By then the mid-morning push is on and the trail comes into its own. Allow 3 hours on the trail for a good April fallout - may be more. At mid-day most lunch right there but I like to go to the east end where raptors are more conspicuous. Sharpy in particular move along the shore - listen for the starling and blackbird alarm calls - within 90 seconds you should spot a raptor coming along. * a strong north wind usually indicates the large loop section of the trail and eastwards will be best early. If raptors are flying you may want to check in at the observation tower back at the sportsman's center (closed on weekends - Ohio does not cater to birders even here at the premier site for birding). A hawk-watch should be in progress (through next week). There are new trails in the immediate vicinity of the tower - unknown as to how they may perform. Watch that causeway again coming out for herons. In the pm there is the customary visit to Ottawa N.W.R. just to the west of Magee. The entrance road often attracts Snowy Egrets. In May 1997 a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. From the parking lot head north one impoundment and cross west one impoundment past an observation deck. This is where a Glossy Ibis has been the past couple of days. Head north to the Crane Creek estuary. When its good, it is really good. When it is dead, it is really dead. Shorebirds and the occasional oddity (e.g. white pelican) can be found here. The inner impoundments are usually dead but may hold a late duck species. Work eastward to loop back at the parking lot. This is quite a hike so make sure you have water. Allow 3-4 hours if the birds are good - 2 if its dead. Its worth going once to Ottawa - but I often skip it. Other options - Metzger Marsh - west on Rt 2 from O.N.W.R. you will come to Stange Rd (before the big bend in the road) take this north to where it jogs left (Now Krause Rd.) - you come back out on Rt. 2 - this diversion may give you pipits, Vesper Sparrow, or Upland Sandpipers (which occasionally nest along here). Continue west on Rt. 2 - the next bend in the road has a road leading off to Metzger Marsh. Follow the causeway all the way out. May offer Yellow-headed Blackbird - scope the tops of the willows in the distance on the way out from several pull-offs. May be best from the elevated dike. Small woodlot at the end parking lot occasional hosts a weird songbird. A Bewick's Wren was reported from there a week ago. West on Rt. 2 again until Cousineau Rd. Head north to the T-section. Go east to the first parking lot of Mallard Club Marsh W.A. - another good rail/bittern marsh plus late ducks, shorebirds, etc. Head west to entrance of Maumee Bay S.P. - worth visiting the boardwalk (songbirds and rails), pick up grassland birds, the beach may offer an odd shorebird (Willets first thing in the morning before they have been disturbed - this is peak time for them). Watch the bay for late ducks. Hawks overhead (Or from the Hill below you) can be some of the most rewarding viewing in Ohio. Good place for a crane to leisurely fly by. Great Horned Owls reside in the woods adjacent to the "Hill". Back the other way from Sabroske, from Rt. 19 at the fisherman's access you are 10 minutes from Oak Harbor and fast food. If you take 19 south from Oak Harbor then take the first left (Oak-Harbor SE Rd.) and head 3-4 miles. You will come to a wide gravel pulloff where the road crosses Little Portage river. This is where the largest concentration of shorebirds (away from the Crane Creek estuary) have occurred the past two springs. Expect Pectorals, Dunlin, and yellowlegs - scope the far shore as well as any mud near the road. Up a head another mile eastwards you come to Mulcahy Rd. - take this north (left) a mile to the entrance of Little Portage W.A. - a little gem of a place rarely birded yet may offer more opportunities for a variety of birds. A major heronry is visible from the end parking area but you'll want to walk the dikes from the first parking area making your way north to the river. Only have to get to the river to sample the birds here but 90 minutes can complete half of the area. If you head left out of Little Portage you are on Darr-Hopfinger Rd. - this takes you to Rt. 53 just south of its jct with Rt. 2 - which you can take back to Magee (20 minutes away) or 15 minutes to the east from the .jct you can explore Medusa Marsh where a Eurasian Wigeon has been hanging out. Take Rt. 2 east across the Sandusky Bay bridge (don't blink this is as scenic as Lake Erie gets in Ohio). Take the first exit east off the bridge and head north into Bay View. At the stop sign turn right (east) on Barrett Rd. After a mile or so you will note a fair expanse of open water. There have been three distinct gatherings of waterfowl with the EUWI among the mixed Gadwall/American Wigeon groups - often very near the road. You are just 4 and 8 miles north of Resthaven W.A., Castalia Pond, and Pickerel Creek W.A. but likely need a third day to cover these. Back across the bridge you'll note the first exit (Rt. 269 N). This will take you to East Harbor State Park (an alternative campground) and decent birding in its own right - offers songbirds, late gulls, and staging terns. Skipping Rt. 269, the third exit is to Port Clinton. If you take this it leads to a strip of fast food - behind the Burger King is good viewing of the beach - sometimes good for large gull/tern gatherings. The west end can be scoped from the car from an overflow parking lot for the Jet Express ferry. Make sure this is not in use as they charge admission. As of Monday this week that was not the case. On Monday I had a raft of 570 Ruddy Ducks here. Well those are the highlights to birding the west side of the Western Basin in Ohio. Don't forget to stop by Girdham & Reed Roads in the Oak Openings Metropark in Toledo for Lark Sparrow on your way home. cheers Vic P.S. If you think others in Michigan may be interested in these directions you may consider posting it to the MICH-Birds listserv.