More Wind Birding - 16 Dec 2021
Rant: I'm supposed to be on vacation this entire week. Nope. Had to work every day. This morning I got word that an engineer was flying in to install an instrument that 'apparently' had been delivered to the site but noone knew where the instrument was. It was signed by someone not even in the corporate directory. So, I went into work and spent the morning running from building to building looking for the shipment. Found it, but now had to arrange delivery to my building so it could get installed. In the meantime Justin Labadie found a Purple Sandpiper at Pt. Mouillee so I was double-pissed. I wouldn't get out of work until late afternoon, so my window for looking for the bird was quickly disappearing.
Robin and I went to early dinner to celebrate our birthdays, and afterward (4:45 pm) I decided to make a last-ditch run for the bird. Grabbed the bike and headed to Pt. Mouillee.
Winter storms had just ravaged the Midwest and Kentucky with tornadoes that killed dozens, and the remnants were now being felt here in SE Michigan. With a constant 30-40 mph wind from the SW I was pushed along the Middle Causeway toward the Banana Unit. Knowing full well that I'd have to brave the headwinds on the way back I pushed on hoping to find the Purple Sandpiper. No luck; white-caps and waves crashing along the shoreline obscured everything, and the Sun had just disappeared below the horizon.
So, I stopped at the foot of the Banana Unit and attempted to photograph a Northern Harrier that was being tossed about on winds as it patrolled the SE corner of the Vermet Unit. Light was low and exposures were slower.
As I began my way back toward the car I quickly realized I had bitten off more than I could bike. So, I carried my gear and walked the bike as I was being blasted by some of the strongest winds of my Pt. Mouillee career.
A large white bird appeared over the Vermet Unit ahead and I suspected a Snowy Owl. It had landed on a muskrat den next to shore but was far away enough that I needed binoculars to verify. I could barely make it out in the now rising darkness but decided to see if I could get a record pic. As I approached on foot, hoping to use the phragmites as a blind it took off and headed south over the Humphries. I could only try to get some pics as the winds swept it up into the now-magenta skies a hundred yards away. Of the 600 images only 2-3 were keepers (1/25 sec at ISO 3200 and 600mm). A nice consolation.
A Tree Swallow then appeared along the Vermet shoreline as the winds pushed it eastward and I could only glimpse it as it was swept by.
With only moonlight to illuminate the causeway I trudged on as small flocks of Canada Geese and duck-like birds flew overhead against the winds. A pair of Short-eared Owls appeared and flew over the Laughtenschlager Unit, so another nice consolation.
I was grateful that temps were still in the 50's because I was sweaty and exhausted. You start to pay attention when the low-light suddenly flickers darker for a few moments and you find yourself looking up at the moon to see if it is passing behind clouds, but skies are clear and you suddenly hope that its just the Sun disappearing below the horizon. And that you are not starting to black out...
Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Dec 16, 2021 4:45 PM - 6:05 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Clear skies and sustained 40 mph winds from SW; temp 55-50F; Middle Causeway to look for Purple Sandpiper (dipped);
4 species
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) 1
Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) 1 Vermet Unit; large white owl on muskrat den next to Middle Causeway; flight pics taken; white owl w/ dark checkering; yellow eyes. Flew out over Humphries and settled in grass.
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) 2 Pair flying over Laughtenschlager Unit under full moon and late twilight. Rounded wings and rounded head diagnostic even in dark.
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 1 Iridescent blue back and white underside/throat fighting heavy winds and flying along shore of Middle Causeway in Vermet Unit.
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S9
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
