Last of the Mild Winter - 15 Dec 2022

After 2 days of not seeing the Long-tailed Duck at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Justin Labadie reported the sub-adult male back in the pond in front of the Visitor's Center. I decided to swing by the refuge this afternoon on the way home to check on it. 

I arrived at 3 pm and drove into the refuge, pausing just long enough to test the camera on a flock of Mourning Doves perched like late-seaon ornaments on a bare tree. 

I walked the boardwalk separating the two halves of the pond and failed to see anything other than a mother of two toddlers collecting shells from the shoreline. The weather was cloudy with low 50's but not uncomfortable at all. I walked with the Sony a1 and the 200-600 mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS without gloves.

At the west end of the refuge I ran into a small flock of American Tree Sparrows that moved quickly through the brush but paused long enough for a few pics. 

A Song Sparrow was among them.

A pair of American Goldfinch were gathering the last of the late season seeds from the brown asters. I would catch one bird eating before they both moved on.

I then walked along the north end of the short loop trail and came upon a flock of a dozen American Robins at the north end of the Monguagon Delta. Several birds were close enough to photograph and one bird even posed for a nice portrait!

Temperatures would plummet into to the low 20's for the rest of the week, and within days all of the inland ponds would be frozen. Snow would be falling by Sunday when the Monroe Christmas Bird Count would be celebrated.

Detroit River IWR--Refuge Gateway (Humbug Marsh), Wayne, Michigan, US
Dec 15, 2022 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
5 species

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  16
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  12
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  5
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)  18
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S158909642

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