Northwest Ohio Birds

NW Ohio is a GREAT place for bird watching

The Bird Gallery

Visit our BIRD GALLERY
for easy ID of Ohio birds.

Northwest Ohio is one of the best places in the state (and some say the country) for bird watching. Click here for a list of some of the best places in NW Ohio to watch Ohio birds.

Northern Cardinal - The Ohio State Bird

Share Your Ohio Birds

Do you have a good bird picture, or a favorite bird watching spot in Northwest Ohio? Send it along. Your submission will be added as a new bird page on ohio-nature.com.

The Spring Migration

This part of Ohio is a major migratory stopover in the spring.

The proximity of Lake Erie to Northwest Ohio makes this area a great place to see migratory birds of all kinds. The southern shore of the lake in April and May is teeming with Warblers and other song birds heading to their northern nesting grounds.

Read about the Spring Bird Migration in Ohio

The warbler migration is the biggest bird watching event of the year

Stay in Ohio for the Winter???

Most people wouldn't think that Northwest Ohio is exactly a premier winter hangout. But some birds think so. Many of the birds which nest in the arctic areas come down to Ohio during the winter.

These include juncos and red-breasted nuthatches.

Birds of prey, like bald eagles, will stay along the Maumee River during the winter to fish.

Snowy owls can be found along the edges of Lake Erie in the winter. During the summer months these birds are way up in the arctic.

Ohio Birds of Prey

Visit the NW Ohio Birds of Prey pages to read about information on our raptors. These include many different kinds of hawks and owls.

We also have established nests of bald eagles, and occasionally osprey can be seen hunting for fish in the Maumee River and other ponds, lakes or tributaries.

lark sparrow

Unique Habitats - Unique Birds

Other birds come to Ohio to nest because of the unique habitat that is found here. The lark sparrow is typically found west of the Mississippi River in open prairie areas.

Northwest Ohio is the only place in the state of Ohio that the lark sparrow can regularly be found nesting.

The Ohio Bird Gallery - Identification of Ohio Birds

Below is our ever growing picture gallery of birds that can be found in NW Ohio. The gallery can be used for identification of different species of birds in Ohio.

Bird Pictures - (Click on any of the the small pictures for larger images)

Bird Sounds - (Click on the once to play the bird sound for each bird. Click it a second time to stop it early)

NOTE: Playing the bird sounds require a flash player. You can install Adobe Flash Player if you need one.

Bird Picture Pages: <1> <2> <3> <4> <ducks> <warblers> alphabetical list

Tufted Titmouse

Junco

'Oregon' Junco

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper
(more)

Black-capped Chickadee

House Wren

Carolina Wren

Chipping Sparrow

Field Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

Song Sparrow

House Sparrow (male)

House Sparrow (female)

Fox Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

Eastern Wood Pewee

Bird Picture Pages: <1> <2> <3> <4> <ducks> <warblers> alphabetical list

Most bird sounds are used with the permission of Tony Phillips (http://www.math.sunysb.edu/~tony/birds/).

Others are from Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Ohio Birds Checklist

Be sure to take your checklist with you on your nature walks. Ohio Birds Checklist (2.2 MB PDF File from Ohio Division of Wildlife).

Downloadable Bird House and Nest Box Plans

Visit our page that has many different bird house plans and nest box plans. These are free downloadable PDF documents. Provide a good home for some of our feathered friends.

Other Great Bird Sites

- Click here for a great site about bird feeding and creating your own bird habitat

- The Scoop on Wild Birds and Feeders takes you away to the intriguing world of bird watching in your backyard habitat through bird feeders, bird baths and bird houses. Learn to attract the wild birds you want to see and enjoy their fascinating behavior.

Send along your favorite pictures of Ohio birds or other interesting bird information.

Share Your Nature

Would you like to show off your favorite nature photos?

Or tell about your favorite park, trail, or secret spot in Ohio?

We would love to include your pictures or other information about your nature experiences on this site. We welcome all contributions.

All you have to do is fill out the form below. Your contribution will then become a seperate web page (with your name on it) on ohio-nature.com.

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What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hello! While out enjoying the BEAUTIFUL 70 degree fall day today, I heard what I thought might be a woodpecker near the woods behind my home. I followed ...

Ring Neck Pheasant
No big story, just saw it walking through our yard, in southeastern Ohio, outside Gallipolis, in early May 2010.

Canadian Goose in Flight
In late January I stopped by a well known waterfowl hangout on the Blanchard River near our City Sewer Treatment Plant. The River there never freezes ...

Birds In Flight
My favorite captures are birds in flight. I keep my ISO high, 400 - 1600 Best on real nice sunny days, 11:00AM to 2:00PM. I would love to have a f2.8,...

Sora Rail at Magee Marsh Ottawa County
Magee Marsh is the place to go especially in May. With so many variables each day as to all migrants especially Warblers. The Sora is one of many that ...

Owl
This guy has been visiting us during the summer months and only at night for the past 4 to 5 yrs. Finally tonight, I got a pic!!! Hes white, but they claim ...

Mystery Bird
We spotted this fellow at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Can you help us identify it?

american kestrels
For two mornings now i have watched 2 american kestrels atop a large tree behind my home.

Mr & Mrs Cardinal
I feed the birds and I took this pic from my dining room. As you can see it was to cold and snowy for me to go out. There are many many more Cardinals ...

Our Search for the Piliated Woodpecker
Marilyn and I set out this morning on one of our favorite local adventures, a trip to the Cincinnati Nature Center. The C.N.C. is about a thousand acres ...

HAWK?
I have seen this bird a few times in my neighborhood. It was even in my back yard once and my Great Dane tried to catch it. The bird was long gone before ...

Black Capped Chickadee 1
I'm not really sure what the different birds are but I shot them through my front window the past week. I'm looking forward to winter to see what else ...

Yellow-Headed Blackbird (He's BAAACK!)
Last year I caught just a couple fuzzy pictures of this wary bird one day, then, didn't see him again the rest of the year. Hoped I'd get a chance again ...

Yellow breasted bird
I was cooking breakfast and heard a loud thud, like something ran into my kitchen window. Sure enough, as I looked out and saw a small yellow clump on ...

Humming Bird
Was staying at our in-laws and had given my mother-in-law a Humming Bird feeder for Mother's Day. We put it up and within the day a family was stopping ...

Oak Openings Mountain Bluebird
This is a photo of the now famous bird that is visiting the Oak Openings area. It doesn't seem to frightened by people as it flew right at us & landed ...

Coopers or Sharp Shinned Hawk
We had just finished dinner and were getting ready to do a few things around the house when my wife yelled at me to get my camera and come to the kitchen....

Can you help identify?
I was coming out of my doctor's office in Fairview Park. Ohio. on April 28,2011 when I saw this bird that looked the size of a white-throated sparrow, and ...

Woodpecker 1
Window shot

City Gardening
I live in the city of Toledo. I love to garden to attract nature. Butterflies and Humming birds are what I like best.

I love to photograph them when ...

Young Turkey Vultures
I found these two vultures sitting in a dead tree along a hiking trail in the Van Buren State Park upstream along the Rocky Ford Creek. I thought maybe ...

Bird found at Silver Creek
While I was photographing the pond life at the Summit County Metro Park in Silver Creek, this bird flew down and landed about 50 ft. from me. I tried ...

Bird by mouth of Rocky River by Lake Erie
Found this bird while visiting Rocky River near Lake Erie. He was tormenting squirrels. I have no idea what kind of bird this is. It is not a Blue Jay....

Mystery Bird Not rated yet
We have seen this "family" of birds off and on this summer but we are not sure what kind of bird it is. Can anyone tell us what kind of bird this is please?...

Bald Eagle Not rated yet
I looked out the sliding glass doors and there was an Eagle eating a Catfish along the side of the pond. When the catfish jumped, the Eagle would stand ...

Fishing the River. Not rated yet
A Blue Heron fishing the Blanchard River at the Liberty Street dam location.

Towhee Not rated yet
Seen at Oaks Openings in NW Ohio. And we believe we may have found its nest as well. :)

Turkey Vulture Not rated yet
This bird was part of a flock sited at Fairport Harbor on the beach near the
lighthouse this weekend. I took this with a Cannon Rebel xsi with a 300 ...

Leaving the Ice Not rated yet
Two Canadian Geese leaving the ice on the Blanchard River near Findlay, Ohio.

Beautiful Rose Breasted Grosbeak Not rated yet
This beautiful bird appeared at our feeder this past Spring and stayed long enough to get some wonderful photos. We live on a 6 acre lake with a large ...

Eastern Saw-Whet Owl Not rated yet
We found this owl in front of our barn on the road in Licking County. It had been apparently hit and killed by a car.

Black Swallowtail Not rated yet
We recently visited the Butterfly House in Whitehouse, Ohio and enjoyed all the different butterflies they had inside. Then we went outside to their flower ...

Golden Finch Not rated yet
My Sunflowers are attracting this Golden Finch and the Cardinals.

My Sunflower patch in my yard with a Goldfinch eating the seeds. Toledo Not rated yet
Goldfinches along with sparrows are eating the seeds from my Sunflower that I plant every year.

Hawk Not rated yet
This beautiful bird has been visiting our yard all weekend, calling and perching in the trees. We're thinking maybe a broad-winged hawk, but not sure - any ...

Unknown bird Not rated yet
Can anyone identify this bird spotted in Hinckley, Ohio? There is a tuft of feathers on the head. It is one of a pair that have taken up residence in ...

Mourning Doves Not rated yet
Guess you could say I collect “Louie the Cat” items for the birds and my flower garden. One that I have is a plaque that hangs against our privacy fence,...

Hummingbird - Up Close and Personal Not rated yet
I just love the swing on our patio where I not only swing but watch for that next perfect subject. The hummingbirds always seem to know when to come around ...

Common Yellowthroat male in Ottawa Wildlife Refuge Not rated yet
One of the most common songs of northern Ohio, I can hear them from my car almost daily as I drive hustle bustle to work at 55mph.

AMERICAN KESTREL Not rated yet
This is a closer view of one of the American Kestrels that I have been observing behind my house for the past two weeks.

spring love Not rated yet
taken at walbridge parks boat dock

Hungry Fliker Not rated yet
The Northern Flicker looking for food near our feeders on a cold, winter day in Ross country, Ohio.

Tufted Titmouse Not rated yet
Through my living room window

In our back yard Not rated yet
Just watching the birds and squirrels today and found this Downy woodpecker eating the leftover black walnuts from the openned shells left by the squirrels....

Yellow-Headed Blackbird Not rated yet
Not long after putting up our feeders just outside our kitchen windows, the birds started flocking. I'd been taking hundreds of pictures within the next ...

NW Ohio Nature Oak Leaf