During a brief visit to Cleveland last month, I made a pair of visits to the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve, a remarkable birding spot just a few minutes east of downtown, which is, as the name suggests, nestled along the shores of Lake Erie, one of the midwest USA’s five Great Lakes.

I grew up in and around Cleveland and still, more than two decades after moving from the area, Lake Erie and all it represents still looms large over so many of my deepest memories. To those who aren’t familiar with the Great Lakes, it’s difficult to imagine the scale: think of a sea or even an ocean – bodies of water large enough that you can’t see the other side – complete with large waves, gusting winds, strong currents and significant depths. That is what the Great Lakes, home to 20 percent of the world’s freshwater, are. Even Lake Erie, the second smallest and shallowest and 92km wide at its widest, fits the bill well.

As such, its shores are a crucial stopping ground for the millions of birds that pass through midwest corridor during the norther hemisphere spring and autumm migrations. The Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve, established in 2010, plays an important role in that.

The 88-actre reserve sits on a former dredge containtment site that is gradually returning into a mix of meadows, wetlands, grass and shrublands and woodlands. (The Cleveland Historical Society has a good history on the park’s evolution.) That restored biodiversity is boon for birdlife – estimates of the number of birds documented at the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve vary from an oft-cited “more than 280” (Western Cuyahoga Audubon and Port of Cleveland) to 300 exactly on the eBird list. That’s a sizable chunk of the 410-450 birds that have been documented in the State of Ohio.

I spotted and ID’d 21 birds in my two visits, eight of those new lifers: Eastern Towhee (a female is the lead photo at top, and a male immediately below), Savannah Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Red-breasted Merganser, American Herring Gull, Chimney Swift, Red-winged Blackbirds and Northern Yellow Warbler.

My favorites?

Besides the Eastern Towhees, probably this Baltimore Oriole which I managed to capture asa it sat in an incredibe late afternoon glow.

Below are images of another dozen bird species I managed to snap during my two visits, –one of 77 minutes and the second 76. (No, those durations weren’t planned.)

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And a few other critters who call the preserve home:

And a few snaps of what was in bloom:

Both of my visits were late in the afternoon on weekdays, which coincided with that of a few dozen other birders or people out for an afterwork stroll. I didn’t get the impression that it’s an exceptionally busy place, but its certainly attracting more visitors that I crossed paths with during my last visit, in September 2024; during my first visit, in late 2014, I was entirely alone. Facilities and the trail system have been improved and upgraded considerably since then. If you’re a birder who finds themself in Cleveland for a few days with a few hours to kill, you won’t go wrong with a stop at the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve.

Getting there:

From Interstate 90, take the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive exit, and head north then east on Lake Shore drive. At the crest of the first hill, entrance to parking area is on the left. Ample parking and restrooms available. No pets, bikes or wheeled vehicles on the trails.

Photos from 2 and 7 May 2026