Pt. Mouillee SGA - 29 Apr 2005


29 April 2005 BASF Corp., Wyandotte, MI

0800 Hrs.  First the BIG NEWS!  An Ivory-Billed Woodpecker has been officially documented in Arkansas for the first time in 60 years.  Thought to be extinct, it has been confirmed with 7 sightings in the last 2 years.  Cornell University and TNC have kept quiet about the sightings for the last 2 years while quietly buying up the lands in the areas where a single male has been seen.  Everyone is going bonkers!!  NPR broke with a story this morning and articles are being published online and in Science.  Check out www.ivorybill.org.

0900 Hrs.  Mike Armstrong has informed me that BASF Corp. has hired a pair of falconers from California to help discourage gulls from nesting on site in Wyandotte.  They are here for the next few weeks with a falcon and hawk at a cost of $4000/week.  I’ve contacted Kevin Towle, Fred Delisle and Ron Jamula and have gotten permission to photograph the birds.  A trip around the site at noon yielded no gulls and no falcons.  I’ll start bringing the camera to work tomorrow.

1700 Hrs.  Drove down to Pt. Mouillee tonight.  Cloudy, breezy, cool, 50ºF.  Stopped at the Riverside Park at the mouth of the Huron River and saw a single Willet sitting on a downed tree along with 20 Common Terns.  It was too far to digiscope in the wind, but gave good looks as it stood among the terns.

Riverfront Park and Harbin Rd. (Wayne Co.), Wayne, Michigan, US
Apr 29, 2005 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, breezy, cool, 50F.
1 species (+1 other taxa)

Willet (Tringa semipalmata)  1     Stopped at the Riverside Park at the mouth of the Huron River and saw a single Willet sitting on a downed tree along with 20 Common Terns.  It was too far to digiscope in the wind, but gave good looks as it stood among the terns.
Forster's/Common Tern (Sterna forsteri/hirundo)  20

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S41779885

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

I then parked at the Middle Causeway parking lot and rode the bike along the Lead Unit.  Lots of Canada Geese, American Coots,Mallards,
Pied-billed Grebes, and Red-winged Blackbirds.  

Cell 2 was flooded but held about 30 Green-winged Teal and a dozen Blue-winged Teal.  

On the way back I spotted 14 Greater Yellowlegs in the Vermet Unit junction, and 16 Dunlin in the Bloody Run unit.  A single Spotted Sandpiper flew by as I stopped and saw Tim Smart.

Heard (8) Sora – six in Lead Unit and 2 in Cell 2 area.  
Saw (2) Marsh Wrens on the way back to the car.  Pished one into the opening long enough to see its dark back and bold eyeline – very pretty!





Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Apr 29, 2005 5:30 PM - 6:50 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Middle Causeway and Mouillee Creek entrance
12 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  25     hatchlings everywhere!
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  12     Cell 2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  12
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  30     Cell 2
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  6
Sora (Porzana carolina)  8     heard 6 in Lead Unit and 2 in Cell 2
American Coot (Fulica americana)  20
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  1
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  14
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  16
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  2     Saw (2) Marsh Wrens on the way back to the car.  Pished one into the opening long enough to see its dark back and bold eyeline – very pretty!
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  24

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S41780079

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)