Early August Shorebirding - 8 Aug 2017


I spent a few hours this evening photographing shorebirds in the Long Pond Unit at Pt. Mouillee SGA in Monroe Co., MI. Lighting was difficult in the NE corner this late afternoon, but sufficient to produce a nice White-rumped Sandpiper and my first Stilt Sandpiper of the fall.






While heading out to the back side of the plowed field I spotted the immature (white) Little Blue Heron in the small pond to my left. It was among 4 Snowy Egrets and quickly flushed at my approach. It flew into the Caspian Tern colony that numbered almost 90 birds! There it joined 2 more Snowy Egrets and a pair of American Avocets.




I scoped the far bank and found a pair of Long-billed Dowitchers among a half-dozen Short-billed Dowitchers, another pair of Stilt Sandpipers, four Black-bellied Plovers, and dozens of Pectoral, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Lesser Yellowlegs were numerous, as well. I would find a single Greater Yellowlegs.

I continued around the east side of the Long Pond and found another pair of Snowy Egrets, and a 9th bird in the Vermet Unit among a dozen Great Egrets. Along the west side a pair of Sandhill Cranes was a nice find.



As is the case in the evening the best lighting was along the west side of the Long Pond Unit. There, in the shallows near shore I found a nice selection of Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers.



Solitary Sandpipers.




Pectoral Sandpipers.


Lesser Yellowlegs.




And even a pair of Short-billed Dowitchers!








A pair of Wilson's Snipe was also a nice find, but they didn't stick around long enough to even get the scope on them.


Pte. Mouillee SGA, Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 8, 2017 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 mile(s)
Comments:     Long Pond Unit. Sunny, mild, 80F
36 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  23
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  12
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)  6
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  2
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  14
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  9     Six in Long Pond, 2 more along dike between Long Pond and Vermet, and 1 in Vermet
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)  1     Long Pond among six Snowy Egrets and 4 Great Egrets in flock of Caspian Terns; Video taken
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  1
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  2
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)  2     Long Pond; Continuing; Video
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  4
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  14
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  4
White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)  1
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  18
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  26
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  16
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)  2     Molting birds; bulkier than SBDO's nearby; dull gray
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  2
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  2
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)  1
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  2
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  34
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  16
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  91
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  13
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  4
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  120
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  6
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  6

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38550071

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