After resting a bit at our airBnB we are out and about again in the late afternoon. This time specifically we want to visit east of Port Clinton, there is a string of nature preserves that drew our eye. The first stop is about half hour away from our AirBnB on a quiet road and we are attracted to it due to it being a preserve for rare daisies and the fact that they might be in flower.
The reserve protects the rare Lakeside Daisy that can be found around the Great Lakes but is under threat due to urbanization. We are quite curious if we will be able to find them so in we go to explore.
The trail is quite beautiful with a few ponds and some even have killdeer exploring them, neat. But we are here for the daisies, where are they?
We should not have worried as the daisies are everywhere, we came just at the right time. We enjoy exploring and looking at them and are quite happy that they can be protected and that no one is trying to destroy one of the last remnants of nature in this string of cities.
Of course we also do some light birdwatching here adding two new birds to our Ohio list, a Blue Gray Gnatcatcher and a Field Sparrow, a surprisingly productive outing.
Returning we see daisies everywhere but besides the first pond the other ones seem lifeless. So to the car we go as we have a couple more stops planned today.
The next stop is really close and short, the historic Marblehead lighthouse which is the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes. There is not a lot to do here besides marveling at the structure and after also finding a cache we are on our way to the last stop for today, East Harbor State Park.
