Drying up! - 27 July 2008


After hearing reports of and missing out on the Red-necked Phalarope and Marbled Godwit at Pt. Mouillee I was ready to head down there and look for them. But first, I had to get home from Antrim Co., where Robin and I spent a long and enjoyable weekend in Central Lake.

Birding up there was a bit dry. Elk Rapids Sewage Ponds were barren and Grass River Natural Area on the 26th provided only a handful of birds, but nice ones, including Sandhill Cranes, Osprey, Alder Flycatcher, Swamp Sparrows and a White-throated Sparrow. I did manage a couple close-ups of a female Common Yellowthroat, and a nice pic of my favorite bug: an Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly! 





Grass River Natural Area, Antrim, Michigan, US
Jul 26, 2008 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
6 species

Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum)  1
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  1
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  3
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S167228408

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

The drive home produced a pair of Northern Harriers, several Eastern Meadowlarks, and an Upland Sandpiper that sat atop a wooden post next to the road on US-127 South in Alma!

City of Alma WWTP, Gratiot, Michigan, US
Jul 27, 2008 11:00 AM - 11:10 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.1 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     US-127 south
3 species

Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda)  1
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  2
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S167228673

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

This afternoon I parked at Siegler Rd and road the dike up past the Long Pond Unit to the Vermet Unit, where the only birds present in the NW corner were Pied-billed Grebes w/ babies. It was dry and windy, and the birds were far enough out that digiscoping would only provide disappointing results. So I headed along the west shore of the Vermet and looked for shorebirds. A few Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers were present, but otherwise the Vermet was quiet. 





At the SW corner a number of Caspian Terns, Canada Geese, and Lesser Yellowlegs were fairly close in, and several Green-winged Teal flushed from the near shore. I managed a few nice portraits of a Lesser Yellowlegs in breeding plumage on the sand spit near several Killdeer. The Yellowlegs were quite vocal and rambunctious, chasing each other around and squabbling over nothing in particular.

As I reached the Middle Causeway a small flock of Lesser Yellowlegs flushed from nearby and provided a few severely-backlit flight shots. Nothing exciting, however, I did notice that most of the birds appeared to be in pre-molt plumage, whereas the Greater Yellowlegs I saw appeared to be in mid-molt plumage. A few flight shots of them showed several primary feathers to be missing (P5 to P7). I managed a few pics of a Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs together - the Lesser is the vocal one in the rear!



As I reached the SW corner of the Long Pond Unit I was quite surprised to see mostly exposed mud and little open water. This meant scattered birds and birds too far away to digiscope. Still, I scanned the shoreline and managed to find an American Golden Plover close enough to digiscope in the wind. 





A scan of the far shore failed to produce a phalarope or a godwit. But I did see both Black-necked Stilts and two cute little babies.

Back on the mudflats I saw several Pectoral Sandpipers and managed a couple digiscoped images before moving on. Toward the middle of the LPU, along the west shore I found a few Short-billed Dowitchers and a single Wilson's Snipe feeding close enough to photograph. Notice how well-camouflaged the Snipe is in its surroundings (tic).



Feeling a bit drained after a long weekend I decided to head back to the car and head for home early.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Jul 27, 2008 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
7.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     After hearing reports of and missing out on the Red-necked Phalarope and Marbled Godwit at Pt. Mouillee I was ready to head down there and look for them.
12 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  12
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  4
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  5     2 adults and 3 babies
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)  4     SW corner of Long Pond. 2 adults and 2 chicks. Seen while digiscoping AGPL.
American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  4
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  4
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  10
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  2
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  5
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  6

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S42100400

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