Shorebirds Have Returned! - 30 Mar 2014
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| Lesser Yellowlegs |
I drove down to Erie Marsh Preserve this morning with the hopes of finding some early shorebirds and open, inland water. A stop at Lotus Rd. at approximately 8:45 am yielded bunches of Ring-billed Gulls, Canada Geese and a small flock of Green-winged Teal and Northern Shovelers. Bay Creek Road fields held good numbers of Ring-necked Ducks, Mute Swans and Green-winged Teal.
When I arrived at EMP I found Scott Jennex and Mary Trombley just getting ready to walk the dikes. They had just come from Lotus Road and had found 3 Greater White-fronted Geese. Did I miss them?
A quick scan of the Lake Erie inlet yielded the first shorebirds of the year: a pair of Greater Yellowlegs! Just before leaving a gorgeous Common Merganser floated by for some nice portraits.
When I arrived at EMP I found Scott Jennex and Mary Trombley just getting ready to walk the dikes. They had just come from Lotus Road and had found 3 Greater White-fronted Geese. Did I miss them?
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| Greater Yellowlegs |
We headed out onto the dikes and expected lots of mud! Surprisingly the tractors have scraped the main trail so walking was 'easy'. We found more Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs in the first 100 yds. of our travels.
The first Great Egrets appeared up ahead; one in a tree and three flushing from the grass to our left.
The sulfur pond was quiet, but we counted 8 Bald Eagles in the trees to the east of the pond. We were delighted when they took off and started to soar directly overhead. Six of the birds were either 2nd or 3rd year birds, while one adult and one 4th year bird (white head / white tail/black band) were also present.
We continued heading east toward Lake Erie but stopped to scope a large field filled with hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, hundreds of Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Ring-necked Ducks, Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, and more pintail. Unfortunately I couldn't get close enough for photos, so had to settle for long-distance scope views. We headed back and stopped long enough to scan a huge flock of Red-winged Blackbirds hoping to find a Yellow-headed Blackbird, but w/o luck. Female Red-wings have finally arrived.
A pair of Bufflehead next to the dike on the return trip provided some nice closeup views. We could even see their iridescence w/o binoculars.
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| Lesser Yellowlegs |
Waterfowl were moving in big numbers. Flocks of American Wigeon passed overhead, followed by Green-winged Teal and Ring-necked Ducks.
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| American Wigeon |
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| Green-winged Teal |
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| Ring-necked Duck |
Near the edge of the construction dig Scott found a pair of Pectoral Sandpipers. I was able to get a few digiscoped images in the severely-backlit conditions. Killdeer were also nearby in small groups of 3-4.
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| Pectoral Sandpiper |
Mary saw our first Blue-winged Teal of the spring. I managed a few fly-by captures, and we would see many more birds during our walk.
We returned to the cars and said my farewell. I drove back to Lotus Rd. but couldn't relocate the GWFG. But I did find a Turkey Vulture on the side of the road that stayed long enough for a quick photo from the car.
Erie Marsh Preserve, Monroe, Michigan, US
Mar 30, 2014 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Scott Jennex, Mary Trombley and I; Clear skies, sunny, 30-40F, inland ponds partially open, first shorebirds of the spring!
42 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 10
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) 8
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) 12 flyover group
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 12
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) 24 first returning birds, small flocks in open creek beds in front of us and in flight;<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) 20
Gadwall (Mareca strepera) 24
American Wigeon (Mareca americana) 8
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 20
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) 2
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 200 large flocks in flight and foraging in open fields east of the sulfur pond
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 60
Redhead (Aythya americana) 2
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 50
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 20
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 6
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 12
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 10
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 4
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 6 1st shorebirds of the spring! several pairs among Greater Yellowlegs; <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 2 <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) 2 Early spring returning birds; pair of birds on mudflat 50' away; <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 1000
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 20
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 1 juvenile; in flight among the 1000 Ring-billed and Herring
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 4
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 4 1st returning birds of the spring
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 8 6 juveniles flying directly overhead were a neat sight; 2 adults farther to the east; 2nd and 3rd year birds
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1 heard 'Wicka-wicka-wicka' from nearby tree
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 2
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) 2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 40
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 4
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 12
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 150
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 1
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 20
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Mar 30, 2014 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Scott Jennex, Mary Trombley and I; Clear skies, sunny, 30-40F, inland ponds partially open, first shorebirds of the spring!
42 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 10
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) 8
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) 12 flyover group
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 12
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) 24 first returning birds, small flocks in open creek beds in front of us and in flight;<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) 20
Gadwall (Mareca strepera) 24
American Wigeon (Mareca americana) 8
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 20
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) 2
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 200 large flocks in flight and foraging in open fields east of the sulfur pond
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 60
Redhead (Aythya americana) 2
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 50
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 20
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 6
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 12
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 10
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 4
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 6 1st shorebirds of the spring! several pairs among Greater Yellowlegs; <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 2 <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) 2 Early spring returning birds; pair of birds on mudflat 50' away; <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 1000
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 20
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 1 juvenile; in flight among the 1000 Ring-billed and Herring
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 4
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 4 1st returning birds of the spring
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 8 6 juveniles flying directly overhead were a neat sight; 2 adults farther to the east; 2nd and 3rd year birds
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1 heard 'Wicka-wicka-wicka' from nearby tree
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 2
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) 2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 40
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 4
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 12
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 150
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 1
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 20
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
