The Biggest Week in Birding!

The Biggest Week in Birding came to a close this past weekend after 7 days of intense birding at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Oak Habor. This week attracted people from all over the country. I saw plates from close as Ohio to as far away as Texas and California. Several thousand birders came through the refuge just this past weekend to see the large variety of birds that come through North West Ohio on their yearly migration to the upper parts of Canada and the Arctic. Not only does it attract the birders but it also brings in experts in the field to teach other people what they know about birds. One such group was the Tropical Birding tour guides that came in to give guided tours throughout the refuge and teach people about the birds that they are seeing along the way. These people travel all over the world giving bird tours in areas ranging from the Middle East to the rainforests. The group is made up of people from all over the world as well and I met one guy who is a native Australian, who also happens to share my name; Ian. I have learned a lot about birds from these guys and the other people that have come into the park. The whole atmosphere of the refuge will be changing since the BWB is now over but that means that we will have more of a chance to get a hands on experience with some of the wildlife and I am really looking forward to that.