Mentor Marsh

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Mentor, OH
Mentor Marsh

Interpretive nature preserve owned & managed by CMNH-Natural Areas Division; co-owned by ODNR-DNAP.

08/18/2026

Can’t get enough of these amazing birds that are resting and refueling at the Marsh! Why are we gushing over Bobolink?

“The Bobolink is one of the world’s most impressive songbird migrants, traveling some 12,500 miles (20,000 kilometers) to and from southern South America every year. Throughout its lifetime, it may travel the equivalent of 4 or 5 times around the circumference of the earth.
The species name of the Bobolink, oryzivorus means “rice eating” and refers to this bird’s appetite for rice and other grains, especially during migration and in winter” (All About Birds).

And the seeds including wild rice are maturing in the marsh just in time to fuel the Bobolink flights. This timing is perfect! Hurrah for our marsh restoration that’s providing this buffet. It’s amazing how biodiverse ecosystems support and stitch together so much life! May we always be wowed by and work for biodiversity!

Outside of breeding season, Bobolink flock together. Look and listen for them along the Wake Robin boardwalk! “Females and nonbreeding males are warm buffy brown, streaked with dark brown on the back and flanks. They have bold brown stripes on the crown but are unstreaked on the nape of the neck. The bill is pinkish” (All About Birds).

Read more about the natural history of Bobolink at the link in comments.

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 8/17/26
Photo credits: Nan Patrick

08/17/2026

Dodged some raindrops yesterday afternoon and found lots of treasures—birds (Bobolinks!), blooms and basking animals out in our beloved marsh!

How were your weekend outdoors explorations? What did you discover?

This marsh sure is marvelous!

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, August 2026
Photo credits: Nan Patrick and Becky Siekkinen Donaldson

08/16/2026

Good morning! Today’s a great day for a wetlands exploration and we’re hoping we can squeeze in our Sunday hike before afternoon rains!
Today’s hike is focusing on our Summer Wetlands-Come along for a discovery hike in our great wetlands to see what we can find! See link in comments for more information about today’s hike.

What life are we seeing in the wetlands at this point in the summer? What plants are blooming in the marsh? What birds will we spot in the marsh at this time of year when food resources are plentiful?

And the marsh hibiscus are in full bloom across the marsh! These cheery pink, 6 inch blooms began to grow in profusion along Corduroy Road after museum land stewards knocked back Phragmites along the road and watery channels in 2011. Exposing the soil seed bank to sunlight allowed the Marsh Hibiscus to pop up shortly after, giving this plant a head start on recolonizing the marsh before the museum’s full scale marsh restoration efforts began in 2015. Well over a decade later, these beautiful hibiscus blooms light up the marsh with an amazing show every summer!

Not only are they beautiful, Marsh Hibiscus provide floral resources (nectar and pollen) for many insects including an extra special one-a specialist bee, the Hibiscus Turret bee. This solitary bee specializes on pollen from only hibiscus flowers to provision resources for its offspring. Hibiscus Turret bees are fuzzy and robust, about the size of a bumble bee, with long gangly legs. Female hibiscus turret bees build solitary underground nests in hard packed soils near watery habitats where Hibiscus is growing nearby. This bee’s long gangly legs help her alight on the surface of water so she can gather water to back to moisten the ground as she excavates her nest!

There are so many reasons to love this plant! Why do you love Marsh Hibiscus?

For more natural history information on Hibiscus Turret bees, to see footage of the bees excavating an underground nest and to read more natural history information on this cheery pink wetland plant, see links in the comments.

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 8/15/26
Photo credits: Nan Patrick

08/15/2026

Goood morning and happy weekend! How are you spending ? Hopefully you are all in today, slowing down, listening to the sounds of nature (isn’t the chorus of singing insects the best at this time of year?), taking deep breaths and looking for treasures everywhere you go!

National Relaxation Day was started in 1985 by a 9 year old who wanted everyone to take a day to relax and rejuvenate from busy, stressful lives. Read more about it at the link in comments.

Hope you take an amble in nature today to relax, recharge and reconnect!

Northeastern Ohio, 8/15/26
Photo credits: Becky Siekkinen Donaldson

08/14/2026

Eastern tiger swallowtails are a bright yellow and very familiar butterfly to most folks. This stunner was nectaring on a Joe Pyeweed in the Sonja Teraguchi meadow on the Kerven Trail on Wednesday.

Mid summer blooms are important food resources for so many insects! What are your favorite summer blooms?

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 8/12/26
Photo credit: Becky Siekkinen Donaldson

08/13/2026

It’s the bug season and look who’s out hunting (and enjoying these humid conditions!)! Spring peepers are variable in color from tan to brown to olive colored, but can be identified by a darker X on their backs. They’re tiny little tree frogs, too, and only grow to 0.75 to 1.25 inches long! They use their sticky toe pads to climb up in vegetation. Spotted this one nestled in this plant just before the storm last night on a quick walk on the Kerven Trail.

If you haven’t walked the Kerven Trail before, put it on your list! This one mile long trail winds through the upland forest north of the nature center (parking at the nature center) and features the Sonja Teraguchi meadow and an overlook with sweeping marsh views. Now is the time to check out the meadow in full bloom, too!

This marsh sure is marvelous!

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 8/12/26
Photo credit: Becky Siekkinen Donaldson

08/12/2026

The berry buffet is on! Hurrah for elderberries! Not only do mammals like raccoons, black bear and squirrels feed on elderberry, many birds eat the berries (and spread the seeds!). “Among vertebrate animals, the fruits of Common Elderberry are a popular food source for many species of birds, including the Cedar Waxwing, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Song Sparrow, Common Grackle, Gray Catbird, Yellow-breasted Chat, Wild Turkey, Greater Prairie Chicken, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, European Starling, Grey-cheeked Thrush, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, and Alder Flycatcher” (IL Wildflowers).

You can see elderberry growing all around the marsh, but be sure to check them out along the Wake Robin boardwalk. “Habitats include river-bottom prairies, moist meadows in woodlands, disturbed open woodlands, woodland borders, thickets, gravelly seeps, banks of streams and ditches, powerline clearances in wooded areas, fence rows, shrubby areas along railroads, and abandoned fields. Common Elderberry is a pioneer species that is often found in habitats with a history of disturbance” (IL Wildflowers).

Read more natural history information on elderberry at links in comments.

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, August 2026
Photo credits: Nan Patrick and Becky Siekkinen Donaldson

08/11/2026

Amazing eagles! Enjoy these pictures of 9 eagles perched around Mentor Marsh’s Shipman Pond and along SR 44 yesterday morning, drying out from those early day thunderstorms!

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 8/10/26
Photo credits: Nan Patrick

08/10/2026

On our Dog Days of Summer explorations in the Marsh yesterday afternoon, we were wowed with celestial and earthly treasures. We looked at the sun! One of our museum astronomers, Monica, set up a telescope with a filter so we could look at the sun! We also learned about Sirius, the Dog Star, which rises with and parallels the Sun across our skies and the stories of these Dog Days of Summer passed down through the ages around these long hot days of summer. And always so many earthly treasures to observe, too! Meadow katydids chirping, birds singing and all of the pictured gems.

You can catch Monica to look at the night skies with a telescope out in the Marsh as part of the Headlands Birding Fest in September. We’re also offering other marsh explorations as part of the fest. Check out the link in comments for more information on the birding fest.

You can always join us any Sunday at 2 pm for our weekly marsh explorations! They’re free, family friendly and always fun! Check out the link in comments for upcoming program information.

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 8/9/26
Photo credits: Gabe Griffard and Becky Siekkinen Donaldson

08/08/2026

Good morning from the Marsh! It’s a gorgeous, soft morning out here for our Second Saturday Science open house. What a view and what a soundscape! Birdsongs, trilling insects, green frogs calling and the breeze in the leaves of the trees-who could ask for anything more?

We’re out here in this wild western of the marsh until noon today and every second Saturday of every month, year-round. It’s hard to beat this opportunity! Access is at the gate at Woodridge and Forest in the Headlands neighborhood! Hope to see you soon!

Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve, 8/8/26
Video credit: Becky Siekkinen Donaldson

Address

Mentor Marsh Nature Center, 5185 Corduroy Road
Mentor, OH
44060

Telephone

+14402570777

Website

https://www.cmnh.org/mentor-marsh

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