Shorebirding at a Distance - 23 Aug 2022

With a new tire and tube I took the bike out to Pt. Mouillee for a late afternoon ride. Parking at Mouillee Creek I took off around the Walpatich Unit to the west side of the Long Pond Unit. Along the way I found a single Greater Yellowlegs foraging close to shore, and a majestic Bald Eagle roosting in its tree at the SW corner of the Nelson Unit.

The mudflat at the west side of the Long Pond was relatively quiet; only a scattering of Killdeer and a few Least Sandpipers. 

A fly-by Great Blue Heron.

Near the SW corner of the Long Pond Unit I did find a pair of Stilt Sandpipers among dozens of Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, a couple Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a single Short-billed Dowitcher. The Stilt Sandpipers required some extreme digiscoping.

I managed to find a Lesser Yellowlegs in mid stretch.

I looped around to the NE side of the Long Pond and scoped the pond that has held many shorebirds. I counted up to a dozen Stilt Sandpipers or Short-billed Dowitchers but I could not verify due to distance and extreme backlighting and heat shimmer. I would go back the following morning before work but all were gone as of sunrise.

I continued back toward the south end of the Long Pond Unit and ran into Brian Beauchene. We chatted while scoping a half-dozen White-rumped Sandpipers. By now I had run out of steam so I was just happy to chat and scope shorebirds. We'd then head over to the Pumphouse but not see anything of value (I didn't bother looking for the Red Knot or Red-necked Phalarope that Justin Labadie reported earlier). 

As the Sun began to set I headed home.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 23, 2022 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
11.0 mile(s)
10 species

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  6
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  12
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  1
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  12
White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)  6
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  13
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  3
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S159197347

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