Pt. Mouillee shorebirds - 04 Aug 2007
I arrived at the Mouillee Creek entrance this morning at 5:45 am. After several 90+ºF degree days today is supposed to sunny and mid 80's. Winds are blowing about 10-20 mph this morning and it still feels humid. Swamp Sparrows are the first birds to be heard, with three birds trilling from different areas of the marsh.
In the Lautenschlager Unit I found a cluster of 70 Great Egrets far back in a small creek. A pair of Green Herons were roosting in the phragmites nearby, but it was too early to get any pics of them leaning out over the water. Farther along the road, as the Lead Unit came came into view, I spotted another large group of Great Egrets roosting - this time over 300 birds. Small groups of birds tended to flush at a time and re-settle after circling overhead for a few minutes. Quite a spectacle!
Riding along the dike separating the Bloody Run and Long Pond Units I found dozens of Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, and several Pectoral Sandpipers feeding in shallow mudflats. The rising sun made for a lovely backdrop in the Long Pond Unit, but made identifying birds difficult. I was able to make out several Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers and Spotted Sandpipers, however.
Riding along the dike separating the Bloody Run and Long Pond Units I found dozens of Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, and several Pectoral Sandpipers feeding in shallow mudflats. The rising sun made for a lovely backdrop in the Long Pond Unit, but made identifying birds difficult. I was able to make out several Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers and Spotted Sandpipers, however.
A single juvenile Stilt Sandpiper caught my attention as the water opened up near the north end of the Bloody Run Unit. Several Lesser Yellowlegs, and dozens of Semipalmated Plovers were also present, but I concentrated on digiscoping the young Stilt, waiting for the sun to rise high enough to remove the shadows from the near shore vegetation. After a dozen or so images, I spotted a young Wood Duck checking me out, and I managed a couple images before it, and the shorebirds began to spook. It would turn out that a Northern Harrier was cruising the area, making the shorebirds extremely skittish.
I chatted briefly with Adam Byrne, who had just arrived with Brad Murphy to perform waterbird counts, before heading off toward Cell 5 and (hopefully) the American Avocet. As I reached the Vermet Unit I met up with Will Weber. Will had reported seeing the Cattle Egret and several Black-bellied Plovers on his way in, but neither of us saw the Snowy Egret or Glossy Ibis reported earlier in the week. He graciously agreed to let me tag along as we headed toward the Banana Units.
A handfull of Lesser Yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitchers were visible in the Vermet Unit, and I managed a photo of a Pectoral Sandpiper. The Northern Harrier appeared and made a fairly close pass before drifting off southward along the North Causeway.
I chatted briefly with Adam Byrne, who had just arrived with Brad Murphy to perform waterbird counts, before heading off toward Cell 5 and (hopefully) the American Avocet. As I reached the Vermet Unit I met up with Will Weber. Will had reported seeing the Cattle Egret and several Black-bellied Plovers on his way in, but neither of us saw the Snowy Egret or Glossy Ibis reported earlier in the week. He graciously agreed to let me tag along as we headed toward the Banana Units.
A handfull of Lesser Yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitchers were visible in the Vermet Unit, and I managed a photo of a Pectoral Sandpiper. The Northern Harrier appeared and made a fairly close pass before drifting off southward along the North Causeway.
Cell 5 was surprising empty, with only a few yellowlegs and Semipalmated Sandpipers present along the northwest end. The southeast corner held a number of Ring-billed Gulls but no Avocet. The Harrier reappeared along the west side of the Unit, and we suspect that the Avocet may have flown off for safer haunts.
Continuing on toward Cell 4 we saw a number of Redhead and Mallard, and a young Baltimore Oriole.
Continuing on toward Cell 4 we saw a number of Redhead and Mallard, and a young Baltimore Oriole.
Greg Norwood had reported seeing about 10,000 Purple Martins a few days ago, but this morning we only spotted one flock of several hundred birds roosting in a single tree. I took off to get some pics of the flock using the D70 and the P5000. A Song Sparrow made a brief appearance and I spent a few minutes trying to get flight shots of the Barn Swallows flying over the algae-covered east end of the Vermet Unit. A pair of Lesser Scaup swam nearby in Cell 4.
The smell from the dredgings dumped at the north end of Cell 3 was not too bad this morning, but the dust along the road had the consistency of talc. We made sure not to breathe the stuff if we could. A group of shorebirds flew in to feed and we scoped the Lesser Yellowlegs, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, and 8 Stilt Sandpipers. Caspian Terns, Bonaparte's Gulls and Forster's Terns were also present.
Adam and Brad showed up, and before long we were all looking at several Baird's Sandpipers that had appeared. I managed a few good digiscoped images before Will and I moved on.
The smell from the dredgings dumped at the north end of Cell 3 was not too bad this morning, but the dust along the road had the consistency of talc. We made sure not to breathe the stuff if we could. A group of shorebirds flew in to feed and we scoped the Lesser Yellowlegs, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, and 8 Stilt Sandpipers. Caspian Terns, Bonaparte's Gulls and Forster's Terns were also present.
Adam and Brad showed up, and before long we were all looking at several Baird's Sandpipers that had appeared. I managed a few good digiscoped images before Will and I moved on.
Heading back down the Middle Causeway we stopped and scoped the Lead and Vermet Units. Will spotted the Cattle Egret in the Vermet Unit while I looked at an adult and immature Osprey on the platform in the Lead Unit. Before taking my leave Will took a picture of my gettup and we parted with a handshake. Thanks for a great day, Will! My route map.
