East Harbor State Park
East Harbor State Park is located on the shores of Lake Erie. This park includes a beach area, campground, marina, and wetland preserve areas.[1]
Wildlife
East Harbor lies on the fringe of Ohio's prairie marsh zone • These wetlands are remnants of the Great Black Swamp which once covered an area 120 miles long and 30 to 40 miles wide • After a period of intense lumbering and draining in the late 1800s, the swamp was nearly destroyed • Only ten percent of Ohio's original wetlands now remain • These wetlands produce more wildlife than any other type of habitat in Ohio • Reptiles and amphibians are numerous including the green frog, American toad, water snake, fox snake and painted turtle • Large numbers of ducks, geese, gulls, terns and other migratory waterfowl delight birdwatchers • Middle Harbor is a game sanctuary where black-crowned night herons, egrets, great blue herons and other shorebirds find refuge • Furbearers in the park include muskrat and red fox • Hundreds of migrating songbirds rest here before winging north across the lake.[2] <references>[1]