Warbling in Ohio

17 roller coasters!!

 So where would you go  if you were in Southern  Michigan and had a few  spare  days at short  notice? It had to be no  more  than a couple of  hours or so driving, and  by the shores of one of  the Great Lakes would  be nice. When I looked  at the map Sandusky,  Ohio looked just the  job, and  doesn't just  about everyone come  for Cedar Point, one of  the biggest amusement  parks in the world? We didn't and thank goodness it was still closed for the winter break although the forthcoming reopening was already being vigorously promoted, the hotels were being scrubbed up and prospective employees were queuing up for interviews for summer jobs. Sandusky is a pleasant lakeside town in its own right but the huge amusement park over the bay dominates the local economy. However at the end of April there are few visitors, we were able to find a lovely AirBnb cottage close to the centre of town.

Sandusky has quite a history, in the 1850's it was the last stop on the underground railroad for refugee slaves on their way to Canada and freedom. Local families would take them in hiding them from the authorities until they could be taken across the lake by boat. By the early 20th century the town was booming, freight trains from all over the Mid-West would bring vast quantities of coal and other goods for onward shipment from the huge docks. We visited the local museum to see a working model of the gargantuan coal loader which has been transferring coal from trains to ships for over 70 years. The industrial side Sandusky is all on the west side of town now and today it's a tidy town with wide streets and plenty of greenery, which seems to suit the large numbers of Canada Geese raising their young in and around the houses (we saw more than one chain of goslings following their parents and stopping the traffic as they crossed the roads.) 

We discovered a couple of local breweries peddling their wares in town, the closest, just ten minutes walk away,  was the Bait House Brewery. Based in a largish shack this fine brewery and restaurant was formerly a fishing tackle store and indeed has a fish oriented menu. However I ignored the lake perch sandwich and had a nice beefy burger accompanied by a hoppy Bicentenniel Ale brewed on the premises - fab! 

Our neat little cottage was on the east side of town and was a steady walk away from the Pipe Creek reserve right by the lakeside where bird watching is very much on the menu. We'd already seen plenty of interesting birdlife such as terns, waders, finches and even vultures but this was the time and place for spotting warblers! We were very lucky to be in town for the visit of thousands of American Warblers on their way from Central and South America to the vast forests of Canada. Having forsaken their wintering grounds for the northern summer, they traverse the US until they reach the Great Lakes, pausing for a breather before they set off across the water. For a couple of weeks they settle down in waves sheltering a places like Pipe Creek attracting the attentions of twitchers from all over North America. So what's the fascination? Unlike the rather drab warblers of Europe, where it's not easy to tell the different species apart, American Warblers (only distantly related to the ones we see back at home) are much more colourful as you can see. Around 30 different types of warbler pass through Pipe Creek in spring and autumn and the game is obviously to tick off as many as possible. Some of the watchers we met had rather expensive fancy looking binoculars and cameras, but yours truly was quite happy using pocket bins to spot just four different warbler birdies (not the four illustrated here but as soon as I sort some decent photos out I'll post them.)