Presque Isle State Park, known as a birder’s paradise, is a 3,200-acre sandy peninsula that arches lakeward into Lake Erie.

Because of the diversity of ecological zones at Presque Isle State Park, many different species of plants and wildlife inhabit the park from the shoreline to the climax forest. Of all the plants and animals on Presque Isle, birds are the most studied and understood. The peninsula's location along the Atlantic Flyway and the diversity of natural habitats make Presque Isle State Park a haven for bird life. Migrating birds, including several species of special concern, rest, feed, and nest here. Over 320 species of birds have been recorded at the park. Presque Isle like some locations throughout the world attract so many birds or such a variety of interesting birds that they are known as 'HOT SPOTS.'

Birders flock to the peninsula each year during the spring and fall migration season to peer through binoculars, trying to catch a glimpse of the bright birds skittering through the bushes and trees.

As a flyway for migrating songbirds, shorebirds, gulls and waterfowl, birders trek around Presque Isle all year. However, May is the time of year when spectacularly plumaged wood warblers arrive during their annual spring migration. Some will stay to breed and nest and some will migrate further north to begin the annual cycle of breeding, nesting and raising their offspring. Presque Isle State Park has been rated by Birder's World magazine as one of the top birding spots in the country. Presque Isle's location on the Atlantic Flyway makes it a favorable spot for birds to stop to feed and rest on their migration across Lake Erie. It isn’t unusual to have birds hanging like ornaments from the trees during spring migration. Waterfowl migration occurs in March and in late November through December. Shorebird migration peaks in April and in September. Warbler and songbird migration is observed in May and in September. Each April the Presque Isle Audubon Society sponsors a Hawk Watch at the new Erie Bluffs State Park…..540 acres of pristine land -- including more than one mile of Lake Erie shoreline, in Girard Townships in Erie County.

Annual yearly birding events include:

April - Annual Hawk Watch at Erie Bluffs State Park

May – International Migratory Bird Day Celebration, Presque Isle State Park

For more information contact: http://www.presqueisle.org/audubon/