Birding spots

Best Birding Spots in Ohio

By species reported, the top birding spots in Ohio are Whiskey Island, Headlands Beach State Park, and Headlands Beach State Park (Grand River). Whiskey Island has the longest list (265 species), and its best season is spring.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	County	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Whiskey Island	Cuyahoga County	265	8,019	98	229	141	193
Headlands Beach State Park	Lake County	256	4,298	86	227	141	212
Headlands Beach State Park (Grand River)	Lake County	252	3,352	71	225	162	200
Maumee Bay State Park (west)	Lucas County	246	2,364	82	224	110	176
Magee Marsh Wildlife Area	Lucas County	244	22,210	44	240	139	174
Mentor Lagoons Marina and Park	Lake County	244	3,195	101	218	136	184
Sandy Ridge Reservation	Lorain County	240	7,097	95	219	161	196
Cleveland Lakefront State Park - Gordon Park	Cuyahoga County	238	11,083	118	219	140	206
Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area (east)	Lucas County	238	3,089	64	228	109	125
Calvins Marsh Reservoir	Mahoning County	235	2,898	92	205	145	199
Howard Farms Land Acquisition	Lucas County	234	13,892	75	217	156	157
Douglas Marsh	Lucas County	234	4,595	61	215	98	142
Alum Creek Lake	Delaware County	233	4,918	103	180	140	197
Magee Marsh Wildlife Area (east)	Lucas County	230	3,830	57	223	104	142
Pipe Creek Wilderness Area	Erie County	230	2,471	60	227	107	73
Maumee Bay State Park	Lucas County	229	4,666	48	222	108	149
Eisenhour Marsh	Ottawa County	228	2,581	65	211	119	145
Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area	Wayne County	227	2,649	83	190	126	169
Englewood Metropark	Montgomery County	226	3,309	85	189	142	151
Killdeer Wildlife Pond Number Two	Wyandot County	226	849	85	185	129	147
Fernald Preserve	Hamilton County	225	5,547	109	198	138	189
East Fork State Park	Clermont County	223	2,907	98	155	112	189
Mohicanville Reservoir	Wayne County	221	4,208	89	179	149	165
Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area	Lucas County	221	3,188	60	208	98	67
Gilmore Ponds Preserve Metropark	Butler County	220	3,697	86	205	133	178
Ritter Marsh (Searles Marsh)	Ottawa County	220	1,278	76	178	141	175
Pintail Marsh	Lucas County	218	1,695	59	204	131	116
Akron City Reservoir	Geauga County	215	4,955	90	163	125	185
Sheldon Marsh Dedicated Nature Preserve	Erie County	212	3,447	82	204	117	158
Delaware Recreation Area	Delaware County	212	1,848	105	191	108	119

By county