American Avocets! - 27 Apr 2013

First there were 10 reported.  By the end of the day there would be almost 40 American Avocets reported off of Bay Creek Rd. near the Erie Marsh Preserve in southern Monroe Co., MI.

Having just returned from Magee Marsh in Ohio, I debated going back down there, but we just don't get this many Avocets in one area.  And given their habit of disappearing as quickly as appearing, I knew they wouldn't stay long.

I headed down I-75 to Summit Rd. and made a U-turn off of Stern Rd. south so that I was heading back north.  Just before the I-75 entrance ramp was Bay Creek Rd. And just a short distance from the turnoff was the yellow gate in front of the dike that separates the new shorebird cell from the small inlet of Lake Erie.  In the inlet itself I counted 36 American Avocets at 6:30 pm.

Hiking out on the dike I managed to find a break in the phragmites that lined the shore, giving me a relatively unobstructed view of the avocets from the dike.  I spent about 30 minutes digiscoping the birds from about 200' away.  All were in breeding plumage w/ their diagnostic orange heads and up-curved bills.

Not unexpected, the birds were gone the following morning.  Farther south at Maumee Bay State Park in NW Ohio there were 40 American Avocets reported on the inland beach!  Same birds?  I wonder...

Two days later (29th) there were an astonishing 52 American Avocets reported at Lake St. Clair Metropark in Harrison Twp., MI.  Same birds?  I wonder...

Erie SGA--Bay Creek Rd., Monroe, Michigan, US
Apr 27, 2013 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     First there were 10 reported.  By the end of the day there would be almost 40 American Avocets reported off of Bay Creek Rd. near the Erie Marsh Preserve in southern Monroe Co., MI.
1 species

American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)  36

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S44446565

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