'Wapiti' weekend! - 26 Aug 2007
This past weekend we took a trip up to Antrim Co. (Central Lake, MI) to dodge the storms. Leaving town early Friday afternoon we arrived in Elk Rapids at dinner time, and after a great meal at Pearl's Restaurant we stopped at the Elk Rapids Sewage Ponds. Shorebirds were everywhere! I roughly counted the following in the first pond next to the fence:
(20) Lesser Yellowlegs
(11) Greater Yellowlegs
(8) Solitary Sandpipers
(1) Baird's Sandpiper
(1) Stilt Sandpiper
(1) Pectoral Sandpiper
(23) Least Sandpipers
(4) Spotted Sandpipers
(6) Killdeer
Unfortunately time was short so I could only enjoy the flocks w/ binocs.
Elk Rapids Treatment Ponds, Antrim, Michigan, US
Aug 24, 2007 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments: Sewage ponds
9 species
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 6
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 4
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) 8
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 20
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 11
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) 1 Adult w/ heavy horizontal barring on chest and underbelly, long bill w/ slight droop was early distinguished from Short-billed or Long-billed Dowitcher. Orange cheek patch was also distinguishing mark. After last night's storm it may have blown in with the other shorebirds.
Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) 1 near shore. Long-winged peep w/ black legs and straight black bill. Buffy chest, scalloped back
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 23
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Aug 24, 2007 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments: Sewage ponds
9 species
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 6
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 4
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) 8
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 20
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 11
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) 1 Adult w/ heavy horizontal barring on chest and underbelly, long bill w/ slight droop was early distinguished from Short-billed or Long-billed Dowitcher. Orange cheek patch was also distinguishing mark. After last night's storm it may have blown in with the other shorebirds.
Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) 1 near shore. Long-winged peep w/ black legs and straight black bill. Buffy chest, scalloped back
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 23
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
After a heavy rain Friday night Saturday was gorgeous. We took a drive to Sutton's Bay to visit an aunt, but stopped along the way to photograph several of the Elk that were penned up on a farm just north of Central Lake (on M-88). It's getting to be rutting season as the velvet could be seen hanging from the massive racks of antlers.
The only other highlights of the weekend were a Bald Eagle along the shoreline between Traverse City and Sutton's Bay, and numerous Red-tailed Hawks along the freeways driving home (I-75 and US-127).
