Toledo's Largest Metro Park: Oak Openings

One of Toledo's largest Metro Parks is Oak Openings, which is located at:

4139 Girdham Rd. (2 miles west of the Toledo Express Airport) Swanton Ohio

Oak Openings Park contains approximately 3743 acres of very diverse landscapes, making the part a naturalist's paradise consisting of sand dunes, which hosts plant life such as wild lupines, prickly pear cactus, and sand cherries. Other various life often seen in the dune area are the Lark and field sparrows, (sometimes a prairie warbler), Karner blue butterflies, and badgers, while several yards away, the landscape changes into wet swampy areas containing low growing orchids.

Other diverse landscapes include:

Oak Savannas: The savannas contain a sparse amount of oak trees, with only about 20 trees per acre, which allows for much sunlight, giving the area the name of "oak openings" The vast sunlight in the areas allows for a great diversity in plant life, and species such as found in the prairies, birds such as the red headed woodpeckers, red tailed hawks, and summer tanagers often frequent the area. To keep the savanna's open occasional fires are needed to control the amount of various trees and plants that block the floor plants (low growing plants) from receiving light.

Oak Woodlands: The oak wood lands contain more than 20 oak trees per acre, yet the branches nor do the trees touch each other, creating a display of light and shadows. Plant life consists of witch hazel, service berries, wild geranium, Dutchman's Breeches, and winter green. Bird species such as Cooper's Hawk, scarlet tanagers and wild turkeys have made their homes in the area.

Pin Oak Flatwoods: The area consists of pin oaks, and can either be very sparse, containing few trees or so dense the crowns of the oaks touch. The Flatwoods are seasonally flooded with water and contains a diversity of plant life. This plant life includes such species as spicebush, winterberry, cord grass, blue flag iris, and buttonbush, and is home to the wood duck, red shoulder hawk, woodcock, and both the crested and alder flycatcher.