Slow Shorebirding Morning - 11 Aug 2018

I arrived at Mouillee Creek parking lot at 6:40 am just in time to see 19 Sandhill Cranes flying west from the Nelson Unit. As I rode out along the Middle Causeway several Great Egrets were roosting in a large snag illuminated by the rising sun. I would seen another 65 of them in the Long Pond Unit.

I headed along the South end of the Walpatich Unit and heard a Dickcissel while a dozen Bobolink scattered from the trail ahead of me. Indigo Buntings were also abundant, but lighting was too low to photograph any of them.

I arrived at the SE corner of the Long Pond Unit and spotted 4 juvenile Greater Yellowlegs foraging next to a Short-billed Dowitcher. Semipalmated Plovers (3) were foraging among a half-dozen Killdeer and several Semipalmated Sandpipers. Decided to keep moving so that I might find a King Rail. I managed to capture a full-magnification video of a juvenile King Rail that appeared for a few minutes before scampering back into cover. The bird was at least 50 yds back along the edge of a small canal near the north east corner of the unit.

As I headed west along the North Causeway I ran into Scott Terry, Adam Byrne and Phil Chu. After a few minutes of chatting I continued on to check out the middle portion of the Long Pond. This would entail hiking through wet vegetation to get there. Caspian Terns (18) were roosting in the middle of the Long Pond Unit. I chose a bad day to wear heavy cotton pants; they were soaked while hiking through dew-covered vegetation. I did get a few nice pics of a Red Admiral Butterfly on a Marsh Mallow bloom.

I returned to the causeway and rode around Cell 5 to the Lake Erie side of the Banana Unit. I failed to see any evidence of a White-winged Scoter. I did see several Lesser Scaup and Redhead Ducks. Bald Eagles (6) were abundant, but lighting was poor for photographing them.

As I continued toward the Middle Causeway I ran into Andy Sturgess and spent some time digiscoping some Bobolink while he chased Mink along the rip-rap next to the dike. We chatted a bit and took the opportunity to shoot fly-by birds. He went after Osprey while I went after dragonflies. We would see a Northern Harrier fly over.

As we rode west along the Middle Causeway we ran into Scott, Adam and Phil - no shorebirds of note were being seen. Shorebird habitat at Pt. Mouillee seems scarce these days. Scott reported that the Bad Creek Unit was grown over and not supporting any shorebirds this morning. The Long Pond Unit seems to have the only mud available. They did report a possible Long-billed Dowitcher back at the SE corner of the Long Pond. Andy and I headed in that direction.

We found a pair of dowitchers upon arrival, but I couldn't convince myself that either one was anything but Short-billed Dowitchers (adults with worn plumage). I spent time digiscoping both birds. Worn flight feathers were apparent, but both birds were were slender in appearance with spotting on flanks and under tails. One bird appeared larger than the other, though.

I would return to the car after stopping long enough to get a long distance shot of an Indigo Bunting along the Bloody Run Unit. Another dragonfly made an appearance, as well.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 11, 2018 6:40 AM - 10:10 AM
Protocol: Traveling
11.0 mile(s)
22 species

Redhead (Aythya americana)  3
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  4
King Rail (Rallus elegans)  1     Continuing. Juvenile in Long Pond Unit. Viewed for several minutes before scampering back into cover 50 yds back along the edge of a small canal near north east corner of the unit.
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  19     flying west from the Nelson Unit. Exact count.
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  3
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  6
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  4
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  3
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  4
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  18
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  68     Mostly in Long Pond Unit
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  6
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  1
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)  12
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  12
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  2
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  4
Dickcissel (Spiza americana)  1     South end of Walpatich Unit. Singing "Dik-dik-seer-seer" and among dozen Bobolink

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S152288540

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