Twilight Birding! - 16 Oct 2009


Today was a virtual twilight. It was breezy, with heavy clouds and overcast skies. But I decided to head down to Pt. Mouillee anyway, because there was a bit of lightening skies to the west.

I left work a bit after 3 pm. and headed down to Campau Rd. Driving slowly over the canals I spotted a flock of six Great Egrets and several Great Blue Herons. A few White-throated Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows were 'tseet'-ing in the shrubs lining the road, but offered no pics. I did spot a pair of Eastern Phoebes in the field to my right, and managed a few long-distance photos of a perching bird. Lovely!


The Huron River in front of the HQ was a bit active with Double-crested Cormorants, Caspian Terns, and juvenile Pied-billed Grebes. A couple of Bonaparte's Gulls flew by at a distance.

I then headed south toward Roberts Road and slowly cruised the road to the parking lot. A Greater Yellowlegs was sounding out its 'Tu-Tu-Tu!' from somewhere near the pond at the entrance. Several pairs of Eastern Phoebes were working the fenceline to my right, and I managed a couple of record pics. I ran into a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers that fed very near the fence lining the quarry, and I had to stretch across the passenger side of the car to photograph them through the window. Still, they stayed long enough for me to get some nice keepers, despite having to shoot 1/80 sec. w/ the 400mm lens. 






A few Ruby- and Golden-crowned Kinglets were also feeding nearby and flashing their head colors, but were too far away to photograph. Song Sparrows were also abundant, but less conspicuous than the warblers.


I back-tracked down Rheaume Rd. and came across a flock of White-crowned Sparrows feeding among the Gray Dogwoods and grape vines. One bird posed long enough for a couple of portraits. 



Another Eastern Phoebe also posed on a fence wire and provided nice looks. A pair of Ruby-crowned Kinglets were feeding on the goldenrod outside the car door, but the lighting was too low to get clean captures. A large Cooper's Hawk took off from one of the light poles and rocketed along the road ahead of me before disappearing into the quarry. An American Kestrel was the only other bird of prey seen.

As the skies darkened even more, I headed home along Jefferson. Near Pennsylvania Rd. the large flock of deer were feeding near the fenceline, including several 6+ point bucks. Beautiful animals. Several cars had stopped in the middle of the road to watch them, including me!

A great start to the weekend!

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Oct 16, 2009 3:30 PM - 4:50 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Today was a virtual twilight. It was breezy, with heavy clouds and overcast skies. But I decided to head down to Pt. Mouillee anyway, because there was a bit of lightening skies to the west.
16 species

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  1
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  6
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)  1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  1
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)  1
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)  2
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S42235970

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