Blue-winged Teal - 17 Apr 2021
Four Plegadis sp. ibis were reported today at Pt. Mouillee. Three were confirmed as White-faced and one confirmed as Glossy. I managed to see all four momentarily before they flew out of sight.
I had taken the bike to Pt. Mouillee this Saturday afternoon to look for them and hopefully get some pics. I'd have to settle for more of the locals. Parking at Mouillee Creek I rode out along the dike separating Laughtenschlager and Bloody Run Units and headed north toward the North Causeway.
A flock of Turkey Vultures were roosting on the ground on the other side of the channel and provided some nice flight shots when they took off and circled around before settling back down.
Blue-winged Teal were numerous this evening. Many were in the channel to my right and many were in the fields of the Bloody Run Unit. They had a tendency to flush far ahead of me, but then fly back across the Laughtenschlager Unit to my left. The Sony a1 had no problem keeping up with them.
Bufflehead continue to hang around. Lots of courting going on.
I reached the northeast corner of the Long Pond Unit and hiked into the brush to look for the ibis, but could not relocate them. I did have nice looks at a Greater Yellowlegs that allowed me time to get some digiscoped images.
As I reached the Middle Causeway I was able to enjoy a pair of American White Pelicans do a fly-by. I would then see a larger flock fly along the east side of the Vermet Unit.
Looping around the Vermet yielded few highlights. I did happen upon a small flock of Purple Martins working the shoreline of Lake Erie but low light prevented any decent photo opps.
As I headed back to the car a pair of Sandhill Cranes flew by and gave nice looks in the last of the afternoon light. A pair of Bald Eagles would be the last pics for the evening.
Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Apr 17, 2021 4:30 PM - 6:50 PM
Protocol: Traveling
8.0 mile(s)
10 species
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) 23
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 12
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) 2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 1
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) 2
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) 1 Four Plegadis sp. ibis were reported today at Pt. Mouillee. Three were confirmed as White-faced and one confirmed as Glossy. I managed to see all four momentarily before they flew out of sight. One had dark eyes and bluish skin patch bordered by thin white.
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) 3 Four Plegadis sp. ibis were reported today at Pt. Mouillee. Three were confirmed as White-faced and one confirmed as Glossy. I managed to see all four momentarily before they flew out of sight. Plegadis ibis w/ red skin bordered by white and red eyes.
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 12
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 2
Purple Martin (Progne subis) 8
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
