Long Pond Shorebirds - 13 Aug 2017


I took a late afternoon run down to Point Mouillee to look for shorebirds. I ran into John Parker in the Long Pond Unit and we scoped the backlit mudflats for Stilt Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpipers, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers, and Killdeer.

A Dunlin in basic plumage had me thinking Western Sandpiper for a while, but, it was much larger than the peeps nearby, as well as Semipalmated Plovers, so I was corrected.


I rode out to Cell 3 and found that dredging were being pumped into the south end of the cell, but it was just flooding the heavy emergent vegetation.

I did see a flock of 11 Yellow-headed Blackbirds in the plowed field at the south end of the Vermet Unit. They were all juvenile males except for two adult males.

The best shorebirding was along the south end and west end of the Long Pond. Late afternoon sunlight and close birds made for some nice digiscoping.




I thought I saw a juvenile Sora duck into the cattails, but after waiting 20 minutes for it to reappear it turned out to be a juvenile Common Gallinule.


Nice to see some Greater Yellowlegs close by. And Mr. David Amamoto on the way out!



Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 13, 2017 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
7.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     ran into John Parker in Long Pond Unit and David Amamoto in Bloody Run Unit.
38 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  12
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  3
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  8
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  20
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  2     juvenile - video taken
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  6     far south end of Long Pond Unit - saw wings flapping and black armpits. Molting adults with some black still on chest and flanks.
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  19
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  2
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  1     Basic plumage. Short, distinct bib w/ chevrons on chest and sides, long decurved bill. Overall larger than Semipalmated Plovers and Pectoral Sandpipers. Mistakenly thought it was a Western Sandpiper for a few minutes.
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  25
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  35
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  30
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  8
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  4
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  60
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  20
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  55
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  1
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  6
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  3
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  17
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  1
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  1
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  20
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)  15
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  15
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  6
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)  11     South end of Vermet in plowed field next to Middle Causeway. Flock of 14 birds with 1 Redwinged Blackbird, and two Brown-headed Cowbirds. All the rest were YHBB; 4 Adult males and 7 juvenile males with some yellow on head and chest.
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  6
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  6

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S38637154

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