by Sarah Preston
Day 1
Fuel up and get your caffeine fix with coffee or espresso and breakfast at Yours Truly, which opens at 6:30am most days. Weather permitting, opt for the patio so you can enjoy a three-egg omelet or Belgian style waffle and the dawn chorus.
After breakfast, head to the Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve’s Wake Robin Trail, a ¼-mile long boardwalk. As you enter the marsh, search for sparrows along the boardwalk and on the fence. Song, Savannah, and Swamp Sparrows are common, Vesper Sparrows are uncommon, and you may spot a Clay-colored Sparrow, which is rare for Ohio, but has been seen here. Look and listen for Sora, Virginia Rail, or even Yellow Rail, another Wake Robin rarity, that might be only a few feet from the boardwalk. Lastly, look up for migrating Horned Larks and American Pipits.
Virginia Rail at Wake Robin Trail
Long-eared Owl at Kerven Trail
Next, take a short drive down Corduroy Road to the Carol H. Sweet Nature Center and the trailhead for the Kerven Trail, which is a one-mile lollipop. About a quarter mile in, you’ll come to a grove of large pines, which you should quietly examine for owls. Eastern Screech and Great-horned Owls are known to nest nearby and migrating Long-eared Owls have roosted here. Also check the pines for Red-breasted Nuthatches and check underneath them for Fox Sparrows. Proceed around the loop and you’ll come to a bird blind offering a wide-open view of the central part of the Mentor Marsh. Keep an eye out for a passing Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, or a Northern Harrier on the hunt.
Spend the rest of the morning exploring the trails in the Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve at the western end of the marsh. The Marsh Rim trail is especially good for birding, passing through woodland that borders the Mentor Marsh. Least Bittern, Common Gallinule, and Marsh Wren nest in this part of the marsh. The marsh edge habitat hosts a variety of migrants including Prothonotary, Mourning, and Canada Warblers, and American Redstart nest here.
Juvenile Plegadis Ibis species in the Mentor Marsh
Canada Warbler at Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve
For lunch or brunch, venture a few miles west on Lakeshore Boulevard to The Spot on Lakeshore, which serves breakfast 7am-3pm and lunch 11am-3pm. Try one of the Sammies such as the Chef, a braised short rib hoagie or the Matthew, a spiced salmon patty, both include creative combinations of unique and local ingredients. If you’re in the mood for a mimosa, they have a variety.
After lunch, bird the Mentor Marsh by canoe or kayak. The City of Mentor rents kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddleboards Memorial Day through Labor Day. Rental rates are $10/hour per single kayak or $15/hr. per double kayak or canoe. The rental stand is open Mon – Fri: 10 AM to 8 PM (last launch 7:30 PM) and Sat – Sun: 9 AM to 8 PM (last launch 7:30 PM). There is no fee to launch your own kayak or canoe. Observe dozens of swallows and Purple Martins feeding above you, watch an Osprey catch a fish, or get point-blank views of shorebirds such as Wilson’s Snipe, that typically flush before you can see them on land. Rarities occur with regularity in the Mentor Marsh, so comb the area for rare waders such as Glossy and White-faced Ibis, Little Blue Heron, and Cattle Egret as well as rare shorebirds like Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Wilson’s Phalarope.
Discover Mentor’s best kept dining secret when you have dinner at Skye Bistro located inside the Best Western open for dinner: Mon – Thurs 5-9pm, Fri 5-9:30pm, and Sat 4-9:30pm. You can choose between the dining room, pub, or patio, but reservations are recommended. If you’re looking for local Great Lakes cuisine try the Walleye, or if you’d like an entrée from the land, go for the Char Broiled Pork Chops. They offer specials over the weekend and many gluten-free selections.
Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse at Headlands Beach State Park
Day 2
Before dawn, get coffee and donuts or muffins to-go from Spudnuts, which opens at 3am and head to Headlands Beach State Park and adjacent Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve, which open half an hour before sunrise. Park at the east end (P1) and from there you will see a kiosk and a walkway leading to a boardwalk. Watch the sun rise behind the lighthouse while you eat your breakfast goodies on the observation deck at the end of the boardwalk.
After breakfast, search the mile-long shoreline for sandpipers and plovers, especially the endangered Piping Plover and keep an eye out for flyby flocks of American Avocets or Willets.
American Avocets fly by Headlands Beach
Piping Plover on Headlands Beach
Next take the Fisherman’s Trail back toward the parking lot but be sure to meander through all the side trails that wind through the dunes and wooded area. On a peak migration morning, this spot can be loaded with migrant warblers, vireos, tanagers, flycatchers and even the occasional owl or Eastern Whip-poor-will. You can easily spend the rest of the morning birding this area, but in the near future there will also be a wetland with a boardwalk at the west end of the park.
Eastern Whip-poor-will at Headlands Dunes
Blackburnian Warbler at Headlands Dunes
For lunch, drive a few miles south on route 44 to Scooter’s World Famous Dawg House for specialty dawgs and ice cream, just beware that the family size of their World Famous Fresh Cut Fries is enough to feed an army. If Scooter’s isn’t open yet for the season, and you’re still craving a gourmet dog, head over to Dynamite Dawgs one exit west on 2 and north on route 615, which is open year-round but sub the fries for fried cheese curds and the ice cream for a deep fried twinkie.
After lunch, drive back north and head to the Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve’s Zimmerman Trail, which has a small parking lot on Headlands Road. This is the northeast end of the Mentor Marsh. Before you hit the trail, walk down the hill to the bridge and scope to both the north and south for shorebirds and waterfowl. Scan the water’s edge for American Bittern or Black-crowned Night-herons. You may even want to walk to the southwest corner of the intersection of route 44 and Headlands Road and scope the marsh from there.
The Mentor Marsh Bald Eagles on the Zimmerman Trail
Buff-breasted Sandpiper in the Mentor Marsh
Work off your lunch hiking the hilly, two-mile Zimmerman Trail that follows the edge of the Mentor Marsh. The best bird diversity is within the first half-mile and some birders only hike to the bottom of the first hill, but the rest of the trail offers views of the marsh you can’t get anywhere else and the woods are home to many woodpecker species including Red-headed Woodpeckers. One warning however, the trail can get muddy and slippery so be prepared.
Celebrate your two-day birding adventure with one final fantastic meal at Indian Kitchen on Mentor Avenue. Start with a vegetarian platter, an assortment of deep-fried cheese and veggie snacks. For dinner order the butter chicken or if you like it spicy, the vindaloo and don’t forget the garlic naan. If you prefer a vegetarian or vegan meal there are many options.
The top five eBird hotspots in Lake County are all located within the city of Mentor and all were included in this piece. Two of these, Headlands Beach State Park and Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve are in the top three hotspots in Ohio on eBird by number of species (291 and 287, respectively) and spring migration is the best time of year to visit!