To end the day we decide to explore East Harbor State Park. It is quite a large park and surprisingly police heavy, there are two cruisers both when entering and when leaving and it seems that, as usual, they are looking for speed limit violators. Luckily we escape in both directions and after parking in the huge parking lot we are on our way on the first trail we find, the Channel Dunes Loop Trail.
We really do not have any expectations for special birds here but we start with a beautiful Baltimore Oriole pair which is a nice bonus when just enjoying a walk.
We then see a Blue Jay, always welcome, and a Swainson’s Thrush which is a bit more rare. However what we enjoy even more is the fact that there is almost no one else on the trail, quite surprising on a Sunday evening.
A few times we take side trails to the shore and enjoy the view of Lake Erie and the Perry’s Victory column far in the distance.
While exploring we also see a Wilson’s Warbler a quite common warbler in our area but more rare here given how many people were excited to see it earlier.
And then of course we see all the common Ohio birds from blackbirds to catbirds to robins.
On one of our side trips to the shore we find also an almost abandoned wild beach, this is quite beautiful and we really enjoy exploring it for a short while before moving on.
The trail then becomes dirt and sandy while entering a more wild forest. Here we find a blast from the past flower, a beautiful Star-flowered Lily of the Valley that we remember from more than twenty years ago when we were staying in the area.
Of course there are also snakes here. A couple of them in fact, we cannot remember seeing so many when we lived here but at least all of them are harmless to humans.
The trail deadends at a canal with some nice view over some expensive looking homes. And then it is time to return to the parking via the same route we took on the way in.
It is getting close to sunset now and it is darker which means only one thing. The cottontails are coming out, they are everywhere in the grass while the birds are starting to settle for the night.
From the parking lot we continue on the find a cache along the shore enjoying great views of the lake and even seeing some ducks close to the shore.
Of course they are mostly mallard but still it is cool to see them and then we return slowly back to the AirBnB avoiding the speed traps along the way after a beautiful day out.
