Cuyahoga Valleyspring migration

Songbirds pour through in early May and the migration reaches its peak by mid-May, per the National Park Service: early this month [May] ... reaches its frenzied peak by mid-May. That's the usual peak in the source's own words, not a forecast.

Not now: its usual spring migration window for this year has passed. Next time: early this month [May] ... reaches its frenzied peak by mid-May, usually.

Along the Towpath between Hunt House and Deep Lock Quarry the Park Service lists cerulean, northern waterthrush, northern parula, blackburnian, blackpoll and Cape May warblers.Source: National Park Service, Cuyahoga Valley natural history topics ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Bring binoculars or a scope to look for chicks in tree-top eagle and heron nests; the heron colonies get especially noisy late in the month as the young grow more vocal.Source: National Park Service, Cuyahoga Valley natural history topics ↗ (opens in a new tab)

No. Cuyahoga Valley doesn't require an entrance pass.Source: National Park Service, Cuyahoga Valley fees ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Yes: woodcock sky dances in the second half of March, about 20 minutes after sunset, per the park.Source: National Park Service, Cuyahoga Valley natural history topics ↗ (opens in a new tab)

The park names two spots: the thicket meadows along the Buckeye Trail south of Jaite, and where the Towpath Trail meets the trail from Ira Trailhead.Source: National Park Service, Cuyahoga Valley natural history topics ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Listen for pine warblers at Kendall Lake the first weekend in April, the park suggests. It's a usual pattern, not a promised weekend.Source: National Park Service, Cuyahoga Valley natural history topics ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Towpath Trail, Hunt House to Deep Lock Quarry: especially good for many songbirds, including cerulean, blackburnian, blackpoll and Cape May warblers; orchard orioles when the buckeyes flower; Plateau Trail: another excellent stop at peak migration: a mix of habitats, each with its own birds.

Spring wildflowers (Apr–May), Busy season (Apr–Oct), Fall color (Oct), Fireflies (peak activity near Beaver Marsh) (Jul), Songbird migration peaks by mid-May (May), Great blue heron courtship begins (late Feb or early Mar) (Feb–Mar), Amphibian migration night (first rainy night in early March) (Mar), Beavers at twilight around Beaver Marsh (Jun), Monarch migration peaks (third week of September) (Sep), Owls calling in their nesting territories (Jan), Beavers out by day at openings in the ice (early February) (Feb), Warbler and songbird migration peaks (third week of September) (Sep), Coyotes feeding in the fields; kinglets and nuthatches on the Tree Farm Trail (Dec), First red maples at Sylvan and Horseshoe ponds (from mid-September) (Sep), European larches turn gold (mid-November) (Nov), Great angelica and cow parsnip in full flower around Beaver Marsh (by mid-June) (Jun), Bottomland summer wildflowers, Towpath from Hunt House to Botzum (Aug) and American witchhazel blooms along Haskell Run and the Ledges (early November) (Nov).