The Great Lakes Basin and northwest Ohio are rich with wildlife. Oak Openings Preserve, the Maumee River, the Great Black Swamp and Swan Creek provide diverse habitats for a variety of rare species.
Migrating birds use this region as an important stopover for food and cover. The large, forested section of Wildwood is critical habitat for interior dwelling species from wood thrush to red-backed salamanders. Swan Creek’s floodplain corridor contains vital food, water and cover for hundreds of migratory songbirds every spring and fall.
The Toledo area, on the south shore of Lake Erie, lies at the crossroads of the Mississippi and Atlantic flyways—migratory routes used by more than 300 species of birds annually—from colorful songbirds known as warblers to ducks and raptors (predator birds such as hawks and owls). Bald eagles are commonly seen from the lakeshore east of the city to the Oak Openings region west of town.
Oak Openings is home to Ohio's only population of nesting Lark sparrows and, since their reintroduction to the region in 2000, a growing flock of wild turkey. Oak Openings also provides important habitat to two state-listed threatened species of turtles—Blanding's turtles and spotted turtles—as well as the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly.
Throughout the Metroparks, keep an eye open for a variety of salamanders and snakes, white-tailed deer, fox and the elusive coyote, an unmatched variety of birds, especially in the spring, walleye, bass and other fish species in the Maumee River, and a wealth of other wildlife.
Windows On Wildlife at six Metroparks are excellent places to to see what's flying, hopping, slithering or stalking the parks on any given day.
The “Tiger of the Woods,” more commonly known as the great-horned owl, is our earliest nesting bird in Ohio. Measuring approximately 20-25 inches tall (the female larger than the male), with a wingspan of about 5 feet, it is also Ohio’s largest resident owl and one very fierce predator.
As their name suggests, the pine siskin (Carduelis pinus) prefers seeds from pines and other conifers such as hemlock and cedar. They will also eat tree buds and catkins from alders and birches, as well as insects, spiders, and seeds. They love thistle seed and will visit your thistle feeder along with goldfinches.
The Toledo Naturalists' Association and Metroparks will examine the implications of climate change in the latest program of the Natural History Series: Can Reptiles Survive Climate Change?, Saturday September 17 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the Secor Room inside the National Center for Nature Photography at Secor Metropark.