Erie Marsh Preserve - 03 Apr 2005
03 April 2005 Erie Marsh Preserve, Monroe Co.
0830 Hrs. Ptly cloudy, windy, cool, 25-35ºF. Drove down to EMP despite the high winds and cold temps. The dike was extremely muddy and soft, and walking was difficult unless you kept to the extreme edges of the dike. However, this makes falling 20 ft into the water a likely event.
Stearns road held several dozen Ring-billed Gulls and Herring Gulls, 4 Great Blue Herons, and 4 Bonaparte’s Gulls. The entrance to the EMP had 3 Lesser Scaup, 3 Great Egrets, Blue-winged Teal, and several Common Mergansers.
The dikes were fairly quiet, with high water levels, but Red-winged Blackbirds were all over! Flocks of several hundred swirled in the cornfields. Among them were smaller flocks (dozens) of Rusty Blackbirds and Common Grackles. Blue-winged Teal were the most numerous duck, but a flyby showed a half-dozen Green-winged Teal. Song Sparrows were abundant, and a few dozen American Tree Sparrows tended to huddle in the trees when not fanning the waters for insects.
I got the chance to test the Garmin GPS 60C. It did a great job tracking routes, and backtracking made getting out of the area easy! Photo ops were minimal. Only fly-by shots of teal and geese, and long-distance shots of Rusty Blackbirds and Tree Sparrows.
Erie Marsh Preserve, Monroe, Michigan, US
Apr 3, 2005 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Ptly cloudy, windy, cool, 25-35ºF. Drove down to EMP despite the high winds and cold temps. The dike is extremely muddy and soft, and walking is difficult unless you keep to the extreme edges of the dike. However, this makes falling 20 ft into the water a likely event.
16 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 1 many more but didn't count
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) 1 many more but didn't count
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) 12
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 6
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 3
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 4
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 4
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 12
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 12
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 3
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 4
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea) 6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 6
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 100 "flocks of several hundred swirled in the cornfield" w/ dozens of rusty blackbirds.
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) 12 "dozens of Rusty Blackbirds and Grackles flew apart from the RWBB"
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 12
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Apr 3, 2005 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Ptly cloudy, windy, cool, 25-35ºF. Drove down to EMP despite the high winds and cold temps. The dike is extremely muddy and soft, and walking is difficult unless you keep to the extreme edges of the dike. However, this makes falling 20 ft into the water a likely event.
16 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 1 many more but didn't count
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) 1 many more but didn't count
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) 12
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 6
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 3
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 4
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 4
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 12
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 12
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 3
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 4
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea) 6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 6
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 100 "flocks of several hundred swirled in the cornfield" w/ dozens of rusty blackbirds.
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) 12 "dozens of Rusty Blackbirds and Grackles flew apart from the RWBB"
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 12
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
