Whimbrel Flight! - 23 May 2020

I took a ride on the bike at Pt. Mouillee SGA this evening to look for Whimbrels. It's that time of year when large flights of birds can be seen, and I was hoping to repeat last year's success.

I parked at Mouillee Creek and rode the Middle Causeway to the first dike that would take me northbound toward the North Causeway (west end of Laughtenschlager Unit). It was warm and sunny, and at 5 pm the Sun was starting to lower in the sky. Turning east at the next to last dike I stopped to try to photograph a Marsh Wren that was singing loudly next to the path.

While I attempted to photograph the little songster I heard a wolf-whistle that sounded a lot like an Upland Sandpiper. When I heard it a second time, followed by another whistle, and another, I decided to look to the southeast. In the distance was a cloud of birds moving in my direction and starting to whistle in unison. Whimbrels!

I had both the Sony a7RIV+200-600mm lens and Sony a9+100-400mm lens on me, so I was ready for shooting. I raised the 200-600mm lens and immediately realized that the skein of birds approaching was too large, so I had to pan across the flock hoping to get a count (later). They flew overhead and continued on to the northwest where half the flock broke off and circled back toward the southeast and landed in the Bloody Run Unit across the creek from where I stood.

I left the bike and hiked back down the dike to where they were congregating and attempted to photograph and digiscope them from 50 yds away. For the next 20 minutes they would whistle, rise up, fly off and return to roost in the fields along the west side of the Bloody Run Unit.

In the meantime a Yellow-headed Blackbird was honking loudly behind me in the Laughtenschlager Unit. I would digiscope it from about a quarter mile away for record.

After most of the birds flew off to the north I started heading back south along the dike separating the two units, and came across another 153 birds roosting among a flock of Caspian Terns, Forster's Terns, and Bonaparte's Gulls. I spent a few minutes photographing them while scanning for a second Yellow-headed Blackbird (a juvenile).

Satisfied that I had gotten enough photos of the Whimbrels I headed back to the car. The rest of the Moo would have to wait until the weekend. I would report 2500 total birds to eBird when I get home.

An American Bittern flew across the dike in front of me while I rode, but it was flying away from me with a snake in its mouth, so I didn't try to photograph it.

A note about the Sony systems. The 200-600mm lens on the Sony a7RIV did not take very sharp images of the birds in flight. I suspect that distance played a key role, but the images were significantly softer than those taken w/ the a9 and 100-400mm lens. This seems to be in line with the growing complaint that the 200-600mm lens on the a7RIV is soft. Still, the images were sharper than those from the Digiscoping rig so I was satisfied with the quality. Also, the buffer crashed several times while I photographed the Whimbrel flock, so I had to switch to the Sony a9 to follow the birds. My decision to keep the 200-600 on the a7RIV was a good one, as it is awesome for birds close up, like the Marsh Wren. Going forward I will keep the 100-400 on the a9 and use that for BIF.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
May 23, 2020 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
34 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  2
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  6
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  4
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  2
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)  2
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Sora (Porzana carolina)  1
American Coot (Fulica americana)  1
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  4
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)  2500     Two massive flocks took off from the Bloody Run Unit and flew northwest. The larger flock ~1000 birds kept going while the remaining birds circled back, settled down in the cornfields before lifting off several times more. Loud whistling preceded their takeoffs. Photographed one flock in flight and counted 897 birds using Photoshop count tool. Counted another 500+ birds in field and another couple hundred on spit w/ Caspian and Forster's Terns. Photos attached.
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  6
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  2
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  24
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  12
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  1
American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)  1     Flew west across dike w/ snake in mouth. Large, heavy bittern.
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  2     Photographed in Lautenschlager Unit just prior to whimbrel flight
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  2
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)  2     Adult male honking in Laughtenschlager Unit and a juvenile male calling from Bloody Run Unit.
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)  1
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  6
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  4
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  12

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S69628391

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