First Row: Beverly Thomas, Jennifer Madewell, Carolyn Freeman, Lois Lafayette

Second Row: Alex Hickey, Dave Osborne, Larry Gersbach, Bill Wilson, Jim Reid-Trip Leader

The Natural Areas : Miami University : Oxford Ohio, in partnership with Audubon Miami Valley, sponsored a field trip to northern Ohio along the shore of Lake Erie to witness the spring warbler migration. Well, it was just fantastic.

Our stops included Houston Woods, Grand Lake St. Mary’s, Crane Creek Wildlife Area, Metzger Marsh and Oak Openings.

We rode together in a Miami University 12 passenger van in comfort and style. (With the price of gas approaching $4.00 a gallon this was a nice way to save money and reduce our “energy footprint”. The cost for each participant was $160.00 and this included all transportation costs and 2 nights lodging. A real bargain!

In three days, the nine of us ranging in age from 17 to 79 saw 144 different species of birds including 30 species of warblers. (And, on one of these days it rained.)

When asked their thoughts about the trip, here are some of the participants comments on what they most liked: “ Great itinerary, all the interesting birds and all the nice people, the boardwalk, the number of warblers, the camaraderie and the birding enthusiasm.”

(If you are interested in joining us on future trips contact Jim Reid - Field Manager, Miami University Natural Areas.)