As part to TBWAB visitors are encouraged to explore a cluster of good birding sites close to Black Swamp / Magee Marsh – yesterday we did just that. We began the day on the boardwalk – being a Saturday it was busier than ever but everyone remained friendly and helpful. We added a couple more birds to our growing list for the site before heading off to discover the delights of several near-by locations. First up was newly created Howard Marsh – a farmland restoration project and now an excellent wetland. Here we caught up with the visiting Yellow-headed Blackbird, which conveniently was on the grass right where we parked the cars! A walk around the reserve added several shore birds including Black-necked Stilt, which have recently started to breed. Another great car-park tick was Horned Lark. Next was Metzger Marsh and more ‘coastal’ species before our last stop – the vast Ottawa National Wildlife Area – where we managed to get our first cup of coffee of the day, see a few interesting birds and add more ticks to our Ohio State list. Then it was back to Magee Marsh for one last circuit of the boardwalk and then home for supper.