The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge

The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is roughly 10 miles east of Toledo on Ohio Route 2.  I've passed it a number of times as I was heading elsewhere.  I may have stopped at the visitors center once because it provided a good place to use a bathroom.  But I never stopped and drove through it.  I ended up heading over there today.

 At one time it was part of the Black Swamp which was a 1,500 square mile area of wetlands, forests and grasslands.  The refuge was established in 1961 on 6,500 acres of land.  It was used to provide habitat to waterfowl and migratory birds.  And it seems with the warm weather we've been having, many of these birds are returning home.  Here is a group of ducks.

 I saw a number of eagles today.  Sadly, not too many of them got close enough for a decent picture.

 Another eagle.

 I think this was a red-tailed hawk.

 A group of sandhill cranes.

 As we rounded one of the corners, we saw a bunch of people and above is the reason why.  I don't know how many swans there were, but there were many of them.

 A seagull.

 There were quite a few spots with roads.  It isn't too bad of an area to look at but I think there are better looking reserves.

 Another shot of the swamps.

 There were spots around the park that were marked as spots of interest.

 A sandhill crane flying away.

 Another shot of it.

 Another view of the park.

 I'm not sure what type of duck this is.

 I came back to the park and caught some shots at sunset.

 I kind of like this one.

 It was a little bit windy.

 I think this swan was telling me to go away.

 One more shot of that swan.

 The Besse-Davis Nuclear plant off in the distance.

 A group of geese flying off to somewhere.

 Another group of swans.

 A group of flying swans.

 There were some swans that were a little closer.  I think these may have been younger swans.

 A closeup of his head.

 The sun was hitting it just right.

One more shot of a swan.

I want to come back here again and hopefully catch some closer eagles.