Evening At The Mou - 06 Apr 2021

A pleasantly mild/warm afternoon prompted a last-minute bike ride at Pt. Mouillee SGA. Temps were in the 70's and winds were calm, so I thought I'd go look for shorebirds in better light than previous mornings were offering.

I parked at Mouillee Creek and found the lot full of cars. Apparently, a lot of other people were out taking advantage of the great weather. I unloaded the bike and rode the Middle Causeway to the pump house and camped out along the shore of the Humphries Unit. With the Sun behind me it was a great opportunity to just sit with the scope scan the hundreds of Pectoral Sandpipers, Dunlin, Wilson's Snipe and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs foraging among the stubble 50 yds away. I could not relocate the Long-billed Dowitcher from Sunday.

At one point a small flock of mixed Pectoral Sandpiper and Dunlin lifted off in the distance and circled around to land. The 200-600 and 1.4TC did a nice job of catching them even at 70 yds.

A pair of Blue-winged Teal flew in overhead, and I managed to grab a few flight shots before they settled down among the shorebirds. I then spent some time digiscoping the drake as he was closest of the pair.

I then headed along the dike separating Bloody Run and Long Pond Units northward toward the North Causeway. Small flocks of Northern Shovelers, Blue- and Green-winged Teal lifted off to my left, but lighting was horrid, so I didn't bother to get any flight shots. I settled for a half-dozen or so Ring-necked Ducks that were swimming in the Long Pond close enough for pics.

The North Causeway was relatively quiet; waterfowl numbers are dwindling with only a few dozen scaup, Bufflehead and Mallard swimming near shore. I did spot a distant Common Loon, and spent some time w/ a near-shore Horned Grebe that was nicely illuminated in the early-evening sunlight.

No sooner did I finish with it that I caught sight of a Short-eared Owl foraging at the junction of the North Causeway / Long Pond / Vermet Unit. Though I was shooting into the Sun I managed a few nice captures as it floated over the phragmites before heading south over the Long Pond Unit. I would not be able to relocate it as it circled back around and headed back to the car.

A flock of Dunlin and Pectoral Sandpipers flew in to a now-backlit Long Pond Unit near a statuesque Sandhill Crane.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Apr 6, 2021 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
6.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear skies, mild, 70F
41 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  60
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  45
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  36
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  12
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  24
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)  2
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  24
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)  4     Huron River next to Long Pond Unit. Male and female pairs
Redhead (Aythya americana)  6
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)  24
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)  200
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  300
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  6
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)  6
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)  4
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  4
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)  2
American Coot (Fulica americana)  24
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  6
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  6
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  6
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  6
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  24
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  120     Humphries Unit east of pump house; another flock in Long Pond w/ Dunlin
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  4
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  12
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  12
Common Loon (Gavia immer)  1     Huron River next to Long Pond Unit
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)  1     Hunting along North Causeway next to Long Pond. Pics in flight.
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  24
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  12
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  36
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  6

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S85013635

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