Shorebirds have returned! - 21 Apr 2007

0700 Hrs. Forecast for this weekend is ‘gorgeous’. It’s supposed to be clear and mild w/ temps in the mid 70’s. I’ve arrived at the parking lot at the foot of Siegler Rd and have unloaded the bike. I’m about to embark on a 10-mile loop of the SGA and the weather couldn’t be better! At the parking lot I’m greeted by a Northern Flicker singing away in the large, bare tree. A couple of digiscoped images are successful at extreme angles. Out in the mouth of the Huron River a handful of Ring-billed Gulls and Forster’s Terns are roosting on the available driftwood. The Nelson Unit is somewhat dry with corn stubble from last year’s crop. When it has been flooded its been a great place to see Wilson’s Snipe and Blue/Green-winged Teal. Today, a single Killdeer is all I can see. A right turn at the Bloody Run Unit puts the rising sun to my eyes, and makes everything in the Long Pond Unit a dark silhouette. As I make my way along the Bloody Run Unit dike I scan the puddles and find my first Greater Yellowlegs (2) and Dunlin of the year. The sound of ‘skipe’ gets my attention just as a Wilson’s Snipe flushes from the dike ahead of me. Song Sparrows are singing, and a single Junco is working the gravel road ahead of me. At the junction of BRU and the Middle Causeway I manage to digiscope a pair of Blue-winged Teal that haven’t flushed. Shots are from about 60 yds, and are acceptable. Out in the Lead Unit there are mostly Ring-necked Ducks courting each other, and American Coot. I’m able to digiscope a few pics of them before seeing a pair of Ruddy Duck and Bufflehead swim by. A pair of Greater Yellowlegs fly overhead but don’t stop. A male and female Lesser Scaup drift by and provide some nice portrait shots from about 30 yds.

0830 Hrs. At the junction of the Middle Causeway and Banana Unit there is little immediate activity. Cell 4 is all but empty. At the north end of Cell 3 I scan the mudflats and see a pair of Caspian Terns, 6-8 Bonaparte’s Gulls, and possibly a pair of Black-bellied Plovers. All I can see are plover-like heads, but after seeing (6) Pectoral Sandpipers fly by, I must conclude that they were what I was seeing. As I reached the mud flats I quckly digiscoped the Bonapartes Gulls that are in varying stages of molt. One individual is still in winter basic plumage, while several are in mid-molt, and still others appear to be in full alternate plumage. As I watch them I pick up the faint twitter of a Horned Lark to my left, and see a bright yellow female working the rocks to my left. She flies down to the shore and is quickly chased about a male. They are difficult to photograph, but I manage a few keepers from about 30 yds. A Killdeer poses to my right about 20 feet away and provide some very close views and pics. Off in the south end of Cell 3 are dozens of Lesser and Greater Scaup, Ring-necks, and Ruddy Ducks. But the sun is backlighting them and images are not worth trying for.

0930 Hrs. I head out toward Cell 2 to see if there is any activity. The Lead Unit is filled with mainly Ring-necked Ducks and Coots, and Red-winged Blackbirds. Off in the far distance, toward Mouillee Creek Unit, about a dozen Black-crowned Night Herons are roosting in the trees. As I pass the junction of Cells 3 and 2 I made out the distinct ‘kiddick-kick-kiddick’ of a Virginia Rail. I pull out my iPod and play back the song hoping to bring it closer. After a few minutes of swapping calls, it is clear that I have no possibility of getting a decent pic, so I leave it be. The Chorus Frogs are blaring away and make hearing difficult. Out at Cell 2 there is no activity. The cell is flooded, but its apparent that there is no shorebird habitat. Its just a flooded grassland and emergent shrubs. I head back out along the Banana Unit toward the north cells.

1000 Hrs. Cell 4 is fairly quiet due to several fishing boats. Tree Swallows are about, as are a few Caspian Terns and Common Terns. The Vermet Unit is loaded!!! Coot, American Wigeon, Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal are the majority. Cell 4 has quite a few Grackles and flocks of Juncos. I see my first Brown Thrasher of the year. As I head down the North Causeway toward the Long Pond Unit a pair of Greater Yellowlegs are flying overhead. A few Scaup are out in the lake/river mouth. As I scope the Long Pond Unit I notice first a pair of Lesser Yellowlegs, then notice one, two, fhree…. Dunlin. A whole flock of Dunlin, all in basic plumage, still, but roosting in ankle-deep water. A pair of Pectoral Sandpipers are in the reeds to my left, and a single Dowitcher sp. is feeding about 60 yds away. It is a deep crimson red with heavy barring on the belly and undersides, and I’m inclined to call it a Long-billed Dowitcher, but only because its darker than the Hendersonii Short-billed Dowitchers I’m used to seeing. The Dunlin suddenly take flight, and I’m able to get some flight pics with the D70 and Sigma 400. A later count will tally 166 total birds in the flock.

1100 Hrs. Back at the car a Carolina Wren is singing away in the trees. And I’m off for home.

More pics can be seen here:
http://www.pbase.com/jourdaj/pt_mouillee_21apr07&page=all