Wet and Foggy Monroe, MI CBC - 15 Dec 2024
Twenty-three brave and hardy souls braved morning rains, fog, cold, and afternoon rain to participate in the 55th Monroe, MI Christmas Bird Count in conjunction with the 125th National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. Despite poor weather conditions we still managed a respectable 14,783 birds of 77 species. 78 if you include a count week Pileated Woodpecker ! Patricia Rydzewski, Moxie Sylvan, Tom Mulcrone and I started our day at 5 am with some owling action near Sterling State Park. Despite a heavy downpour we managed to call in a single Eastern Screech Owl that buzzed us a couple times and provided gorgeous looks under the headlamp. We failed to find any owls inside the State Park so spent the next hour or so at Sal's Place having breakfast and drying off. We'd wait until 8 am when the sky brightened enough to see, and the rains began to subside. Luna Pier was our first stop of the morning. Ice covered Lake Erie with open water better than a quarter mile out. We'd ...
