Digiscoping Dunlin - 22 May 2006
1700 Hrs. I biked from Roberts Rd. to Cell 2 to check shorebirds. Water levels were pretty high in Cell 2, but there were still about 75 Dunlin and 5 Short-billed Dowitchers. All birds were along the far shore and offered no photo opportunities. It’s a bit windy, and sunny, and mild.
The Lead Unit on the way in hosted dozens of Tree Swallows and a pair of Baltimore Orioles, but moving too fast to photograph from the seat of a bike. I could not see the Moorhens from last week, but did see several pairs of Coots.
I decided to check the pond east of Cell 2 near the lakeshore and hiked w/ scope and camera(s). Along the way I saw several Indigo Buntings and heard a few Warbling Vireo. Midges were starting to swarm, so I had to walk briskly.
The pond was dry and growing in. Just as I thought the day was a bust I heard several Dunlin 'chirks' to my right. The rocky shoreline along the dike was littered with dozens of resting/roosting Dunlin. The winds calmed down and the setting sun provided a wonderful backdrop for observing a favorite shorebird of mine. They appeared to show little-to-no interest in my presence and offered a wonderful photo opportunity from about 20-30 ft away. I must've taken about 400 pics including several videos through the scope using a Canon A620.
Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
May 22, 2006 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Sunny, mild, windy. Roberts Rd to Cell 2 and back
7 species
American Coot (Fulica americana) 6
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) 5
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) 102
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) 2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 25
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) 2
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) 3
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
