Wood Ducks - 27 Mar 2023
Robin and I took a morning drive to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge to get in a walk on this cool, damp, overcast day. She walked the grounds while I walked the Short Loop Trail.
A hundred or so Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead and Common Mergansers were on the Detroit River and fairly close to shore. They drifted out as I approached, however.
In the Monguagon Delta a pair of Wood Ducks were swimming next to shore and were temporarily oblivious to my presence. That changed. The female squawked while the male swam out toward the middle of the delta before they both took off.
Sparrows were relatively absent except for a single Song Sparrow. A Downy Woodpecker was foraging nearby so I took a few pics w/ the Sony a1 and 600/4.
Mar 27, 2023 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Cool, damp, overcast
6 species
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 2
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 60
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 30
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) 10
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
We then drove over to Cove Point at the foot of Lake Erie Metropark. The water was choppy and relatively free of ducks except for a dozen Horned Grebes far out from shore and small rafts of Lesser Scaup in the middle of the river.
Cove Point, Lake Erie Metropark, Wayne, Michigan, US
Mar 27, 2023 10:30 AM - 10:40 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.1 mile(s)
2 species
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 23
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) 12
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
We then drove over to Pt. Mouillee HQ. Bufflehead were clustered around the boat dock while small groups of Lesser Scaup swam near shore, but too far out to photograph. I did find a single Horned Grebe close enough for a pic or two.
A pair of Mourning Doves were foraging behind a parking block. All I could see was a tiny head poking over the cement and thought for a minute that a Purple Sandpiper was working the jetty. Got that one wrong...
Mar 27, 2023 11:00 AM - 11:15 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
4 species
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 36
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 12
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) 1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 2
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
