Elusive Birds Up Close! - 07 Aug 2010

I parked at Siegler Rd. this morning for a change. I was curious to see if any shorebirds were working the north shore of the Long Pond Unit. I figured I'd work this area, then the east shore of the LPU before heading to Cell 3. I'm so glad I did!

With the sun rising to my back I was able to catch the first rays as they hit the shoreline to my right. As I rode along the North Causeway I found numerous Lesser Yellowlegs and the occasional Short-billed Dowitcher. A few of the Lessery Yellowlegs were cooperative, allowing some digiscoped images while they foraged along the steep shoreline.

As I headed south along the dike separating Vermet Unit and Long Pond Unit I came upon the first of many Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Pectoral Sandpipers. Whitetailed Deer (doe and fawn) were frozen in the morning sunlight and stayed long enough for a few images with the D300 and Sigma 400mm. 

As I continued on I came upon a large flock of shorebirds preening, foraging and fighting. Among the aforementioned were a pair of Black-bellied Plovers and a few more Short-billed Dowitchers.

I approached slowly, being careful not to spook the flock, but they seemed intent just to ignore me. I took a few long-distance digiscoped images (~150') of the molting plovers, having to underexpose by almost 2 full stops to avoid blowing out their white feathers. They were moving slowly and cautiously, which helped to improve the number of keepers.

As they moved away I turned my attention on a pair of fighting Semipalmated Plovers. Two birds continuously chattered at each other, puffed up, squared off and began chest-bumping each other. I took a few digiscoped images from across the ditch, but decided a video would better catch the action. I let the memory card run out and changed cards. 1st gigabyte down and it was still only 7 am.

I then moved forward and found a pair of Short-billed Dowitchers feeding in a mud puddle, and took the opportunity to catch some diagnostic images. The Black-bellied Plovers were nearby, so I again took the opportunity to catch a few more digiscoped images from about 50' away.

Before leaving I spotted a tiny butterfly that I would later ID as a Least Skipper. 

As I was about to head out I noticed a long-billed shorebird directly across the ditch from me and sunning itself at the water's edge. Wilson's Snipe!

Not only have I not seen one so far from heavy cover, but this little guy was literally just a few feet away from me. And next to it was another snipe. I slowly turned the scope toward them and got glorious views of them as they posed and acknowledged passing peeps. I digiscoped as fast as I could, knowing that this would be another opportunity not soon to be repeated. I had a bit of a time getting them through the phragmites, but some generous cropping helped to remove the annoying geen and brown streaks through several images. Gorgeous feathering on these little gems. They soon flew off, circling around me a couple of times, then disappeared into the Vermet Unit.

Satisfied, I then noticed that Scott Jennex and Mary Trombley were at the junction of the Long Pond, Vermet and Lead Units, so I caught up them and convinced them to head toward Cell 3 of the Banana Unit. We stopped long enough to check the Ospreys (3) on the platform in the Lead Unit, and to enjoy the sunflowers straining in the direction of the morning sun.

Cell 3 was hopping with shorebirds and gulls, and we quickly set to work looking for the Marbled Godwit seen yesterday. It had not been relocated since I reported it early in the morning, so perhaps it had moved on.

As I scanned the Semipalmated Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers along the north shoreline below me I spotted yet another Wilson's Snipe. This little guy was also just a few feet away and in perfect lighting. I emptied my second card digiscoping it, and got some wonderful portrait shots before it hunkered down in a small patch of weeds.

Scott had located a Baird's Sandpiper among the numerous peeps, but I could not relocate it. I was hoping to digiscope some Stilt Sandpipers, but they tended to be farther out in the water than I cared to deal with, so I turned my attention to a Solitary Sandpiper that was putting on a mini-show dancing in the shallow water and chasing minnows/insects in between bathing stops.

As Scott and Mary headed off, I headed down toward the mud flats to try to get closer to the shorebirds. As with yesterday, they ignored my presence, so I was able to approach close enough to get some long-distance images of Stilt Sandpipers feeding along the shoreline. Several juvenile birds were feeding among a half-dozen Short-billed Dowitchers, so I took a few images of them before going after adult birds beginning their late-season molt. Four of them still retained some of the heavy barring on their chest and undersides, but they were losing their red coloration to their cheeks.

Paul Chad (Toledo Naturalists Association) and Nancy Cramer soon arrived and joined me on the mud flats. We chatted a bit and discussed sightings before I packed my things and headed out. Paul had spotted a White-rumped Sandpiper feeding very near where I digiscoped the snipe, but had failed to see the snipe. So I headed back over to the shoreline before leaving to see if I could find it. Sure enough a pale-gray shorebird with a distinct white eye-stripe and a size larger than the surrounding Semipalmated Sandpipers quickly caught my attention.

Again, a nemesis bird was just a few feet below me on the mudflats feeing in the open and relatively unnerved by my presence. It foraged while I digiscoped.

I then decided to grab a few pics w/ the D300, and the sound of the shutter clicks spooked it and the semipalms just enough to flush and fly a few feet away. This provided a wonderful opportunity to capture the White-rumped Sandpiper in flight and get its diagnostic white rump feathers in flight. A Semipalmated Sandpiper flying alongside also provided a perfect comparison for size and tail feathering. Awesome!

Before leaving I grabbed a few quick shots of a small number of Semipalmated Sandpipers feeding just below me in the calm pond water.

Heading back toward the North Causeway I came upon the large flock of Purple Martins roosting in the trees near Cell 5. I didn't bother to stop, but continued on back toward the Siegler Rd parking lot. Butterflies were fluttering everywhere, and most of them appeared to be Common Buckeyes. I stopped a few times to photograph the tiny butterflies as they landed on the trail ahead of me.

Tracking them helped me notice a Common Snapping Turtle that was in the middle of the trail. I almost ran over it, but managed to avoid it. I quickly got off the bike and headed back to get some pics of it as it lay in the road. After picking up the turtle carefully I hopped back on the bike with the plan to relocate it to water and safety.

I ran into John Smith, President of Hartland Audubon, and Ben Lozier(?), who were hiking the North Causeway toward the Vermet Unit. I showed them the turtle and Bob took a few pics of me holding it. Did I mention that the snapper was only the size of a quarter? It must've just hatched! I let it go in the river and headed back to the parking lot to head home.

Exceptional birding day! And I got to photographs some birds that have given me fits for years.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 7, 2010 6:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
8.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, sunny, warm
15 species

Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  2
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  2
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  11
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  3
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)  1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  6
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  3
White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)  1
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  18
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  14
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  42
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  36
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  10
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  3     2 adults and 1 young
Purple Martin (Progne subis)  150

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S165209499

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