Mystery Solved - 28 Jul 2018

After returning to the Middle Causeway I headed east along the inside dike next to the Long Pond Unit hoping to see some shorebirds. As I scanned the far banks of the drying ponds I spotted a tiny black rail chick. When it popped up next to its adult parent I knew immediately that it was a Virginia Rail. The chick was tiny, smaller than a Killdeer, so it couldn't have been a King Rail (last week I reported the same bird as a King Rail and confused the discussion that a second King Rail family my be nearby).

At the SE corner of the Long Pond Unit I spent a few minutes digiscoping a Lesser Yellowlegs that was obligingly close. An adult-worn Semipalmated Sandpiper was nearby, as well.

I continued along the Middle Causeway toward the Banana Unit and stopped when I spotted 6 Yellow-headed Blackbirds in a fresh-plowed field among several dozen Red-winged Blackbirds.

I rode the Banana Unit around Cell 3 and found only grass growing in the remnants of the pond that once was. I could not relocate the White-winged Scoter that was reported earlier in the week in Cell 4.  As I returned down the Middle Causeway I managed to flush the Whimbrel that was reported earlier in the day. I couldn't see it as the sun was setting in my face as I rode the bike.

The Whimbrel flushed a second time as I approached the Long Pond Unit and it landed in the SE corner. I was able to get a few pics w/ the Nikon D500 before getting around behind it to digiscope it from about 50' away.

It finally wandered off so I packed up and headed for home.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Jul 28, 2018 5:39 PM - 7:54 PM
Protocol: Traveling
9.603 mile(s)
43 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  24
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  4
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  45
Redhead (Aythya americana)  6
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  3
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  3
Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola)  4     Adut w 2 chicks along SE corner of Long Pond, and calling adult in NE corner of Humphries Unit.
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  3
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  4
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  8
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  1     Long Pond Unit, SE corner
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  1
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  12
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  4
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  2
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  12
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  36     Cell4
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  6
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  21
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)  2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  3
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)  1     Juvenile being chased by Eastern Kingbirds in Bad Creek Unit.
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  3
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  45
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  3
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  12
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  6
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  3
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)  6     Middle Causeway in plowed field next to Humphries Unit NE corner
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  60
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  6
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  5
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S47514877

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

When I walked into the house I spotted a juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird roosting in the birch tree just out from the back window. So, I set up the scope and grabbed a few digiscoped images from about 20' away.

Brownton Abbey, 26340 Higgins Way, Wayne, Michigan, US
Jul 17, 2018 12:00 PM - 12:15 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Yard
1 species

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S161035483

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