Pt. Mouillee SGA - 09 Apr 2005

09 April 2005 Pt. Mouillee SGA, Monroe Co.

0900 Hrs.  After a short nap I drove down to Pt Mouillee.  It’s a perfect, clear day, with highs expected in the 60’s.  Its currently 48ºF.  

I parked at Siegler Rd and rode the bike down along the Nelson Unit, to the dikes along the Vermet Unit toward the Middle Causeway separating the Lead Unit and Vermet Unit.  Six Green-winged Teal were in the field just off the parking lot, and I manage a few bad shots of a single straggler after five of its buddies flew off.    

Along the dikes I spotted a single Wilson’s Snipe, followed by a flock of 9 Wilson's Snipe flying off into the Vermet Unit.  A short walk further and I flushed another 11 snipe into the Nelson Unit.  Lots of Ducks:  Blue- and Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Lesser and Greater Scaup, Redhead, Ring-necked Ducks, Ruddy Ducks, Mallard, etc.  American Coots start showing up in the Lead Unit, along with American Wigeon. 

I spotted a flock of 93 Dunlin at the junction of Vermet/Lead/Long Pond Units at the Middle Causeway, as well as several Greater Yellowlegs.  

I met up w/ Dea Armstrong along the Banana connecting cells 3 and 4, and heavy truck traffic has us covering up our optics with all the dust being kicked up.   A Eurasian Wigeon (male) has been seen the last 2 days here, but none have seen it this morning.  

As I rode back to the car I stopped and tried digiscoping several Lesser Yellowlegs (basic plumage) and a single Greater Yellowlegs (alternate plumage) but they didn’t come out well at all.  A single Rusty Blackbird gave me good looks along the mudflats along Long Pond.  As I reached the middle dikes I spotted a Caspian Tern in the cornfield along with 12 Bonaparte’s Gulls and 41 Pectoral Sandpipers (1st of the year here).  No luck digiscoping them, either.

Some totals posted to birders at umich:

Hi All, 
 
I birded the dikes this morning and had the following:
 
(6) Green-winged Teal
(12) Greater Yellowlegs
(20) Wilson Snipe - two flocks of 9 and 11 birds on either side of Nelson and Vermet 
(34) Northern Shovelers
(16) Blue-winged Teal
(4) Pied-billed Grebes
(2) Horned Larks
(93) Dunlin - at junction of Middle Causeway, Lead Unit and Vermet Unit
(41) Pectoral Sandpipers - among Bonapartes Gulls and Caspian Tern in Nelson Unit near Siegler Rd parking lot
(2) Lesser Yellowlegs
(1) Rusty Blackbird
(1) Caspian Tern
(2) Forsters Tern
(52) Bonaparte's Gulls
 
Did not see the Eurasian Wigeon seen last two days in Lead Unit.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US

Apr 9, 2005 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     It’s a perfect, clear day, with highs expected in the 60’s.  Its currently 48ºF.  I parked at Siegler Rd and rode the bike down along the Nelson Unit, to the dikes along the Vermet Unit toward the Middle Causeway separating the Lead Unit and Vermet Unit. I did not see the Eurasian Wigeon reported the last 2 days in the Lead Unit.
14 species

Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  16
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  34
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  6
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  4
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  20     1 along N Causeway, 9 flying into Vermet, and 11 flushed into the Nelson Unit
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  12
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  93     I spotted a flock of 93 Dunlin at the junction of Vermet/Lead/Long Pond Units at the Middle Causeway
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  41
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  52
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  1
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  2
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)  2
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)  1     mudflats along Long Pond Unit

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S41778981

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