Foggy Survey - 17 Mar 2012

I decided to do a survey of the birds at Pt. Mouillee this morning for the purpose of entering data into eBird.  Unfortunately, a heavy fog greeted me as I entered southern Wayne Co. and would not abate until I returned home 3 hours later.  Humidity was at 100% so my optics had a nice condensation coating to prevent any good photography, or use of the scope. So the results listed below are based on 'heard' birds, and those that I could see through the fog.  Visibility was about 50 yds. so I missed many birds.

Highlights included huge rafts of American Coot (4000+) in the Humphries Unit.  Most birds were along the north shoreline that I could tell.  I saw the first Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs of the year, and a late morning Virginia Rail gave me brief looks as it flew from the NE corner of the Vermet Unit.

Mouillee Creek Parking Lot
6 Canada Goose
12 Mallard
4 Great Egret
1 Black-capped Chickadee
14 American Robin
2 European Starling-Giving perfect Sora call!
4 Red-winged Blackbird
24 Common Grackle

Walpatich Unit
16 Canada Goose
1 Wood Duck
2 Mallard
4 Ring-necked Duck
22 Lesser Scaup
4 Bufflehead
4 American Coot
8 Song Sparrow
72 Red-winged Blackbird

Lautenschlager Unit
39 Canada Goose
1 Mute Swan
2 American Black Duck
2 Mallard
6 Redhead
8 Lesser Scaup
2 Bufflehead
46 American Coot
4 Tree Swallow
10 Song Sparrow
26 Red-winged Blackbird
4 Common Grackle

Bloody Run Unit
8 Canada Goose
4 Mallard
4 Northern Shoveler
1 Killdeer
6 Red-winged Blackbird

Humphries Unit
4 Mute Swan
20 Gadwall
6 Green-winged Teal
4 Pied-billed Grebe
4172 American Coot-huge rafts, but fog limited visibility to near shore!
6 American Tree Sparrow
26 Red-winged Blackbird

Vermet Unit
16 Canada Goose
11 Gadwall
72 Mallard
6 Canvasback
8 Bufflehead
24 Red-breasted Merganser
300 American Coot
12 Killdeer
4 Greater Yellowlegs-1st of the year!
1 Lesser Yellowlegs-1st of the year!
20 Song Sparrow
1 Dark-eyed Junco
2 Northern Cardinal
59 Red-winged Blackbird

Cell 3
2 Canada Goose
2 Mallard
8 Red-breasted Merganser
3 Killdeer
10 Herring Gull
1 Horned Lark
8 Red-winged Blackbird

Vermet Unit
4 Gadwall
2 Northern Shoveler
1 Redhead
1 Virginia Rail-flushed from NE corner of Vermet - flew out over water - red legs/dark bird; definite rail!

Long Pond
2 Lesser Scaup
8 Bufflehead
6 Song Sparrow
14 Red-winged Blackbird

Trip report for all checklists can be observed at: https://ebird.org/tripreport/211265

A quick drive down Haagermann Rd. afterward yielded a few Horned Larks, and singing Eastern Meadowlarks. This fellow was close enough to photograph from inside the car.

Antenna Farm, Monroe, Michigan, US
Mar 17, 2012 12:00 PM - 12:10 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Foggy
2 species

Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)  3
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S164362180

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