More Loons at DRIWR - 04 Apr 2023
Today was supposed to be cloudy and rainy with winds picking up this evening. I'd just caught up w/ blog posts so I decided to run down to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge to take a walk. A very light mist was falling on this overcast morning.
I arrived at the refuge at 8:45 am and drove out to the fishing pier. Since I found a couple of Common Loons by the fishing pier I thought I'd check again. I couldn't see any, but did see a drake Red-breasted Merganser swimming next to the pier and thought I'd go after it. I had the Sony a1 and 200-600 this morning.
As I walked out onto the pier to look for the merganser (it disappeared) I spotted a Common Loon in the bay near where the cormorants are nesting. Then I spotted a second Common Loon floating next to the pier at the far end! I waited until it dove, then ran past the only fisherman on the pier to get to the end. I was able to plop down on my knees just as it rose just a few feet away from me.
Unkowingly, the camera had somehow switched from Auto-ISO (max 6400) to ISO 12,800 so I didn't realize until I got back to the car. But, I did manage many a nice capture as the rain began to fall. Once the loon drifted far enough away I headed back to the car.
A small flock of American Tree Sparrows were foraging on the lawn next to the fishing pier, so I got a few pics before driving over to the Visitor's Center to walk the short loop trail.
A male Red-winged Blackbird flew in next to the car and started displaying and "Konk-lar-EEEE" ing, so I obliged him.
As I reached the entrance to the short loop trail another flock of American Tree Sparrows appeared on the lawn and along the canal. Birds were flying past the bridge and landing in the branches near the river. Among them was a single Field Sparrow!
An American Robin was perched in the tree next to the trail so I tested to make sure that the camera was back on Auto-ISO. It was.
Bufflehead and Lesser Scaup were swimming near shore as I walked the eastern side of the loop, but were far enough out to not bother with pics. Instead, I continued onto the boardwalk at the south end where I found another small flock of American Tree Sparrows next to the Monguagon Delta.
Returning to the west side of the trail I saw a few Song Sparrows moving through the brush. Red-winged Blackbirds were plentiful. A pair of Eastern Bluebirds and Downy Woodpeckers were moving about, but too far away to photograph. I did spot a single Golden-crowned Kinglet but it was too fast for the camera this morning.
I returned to the car and decided to go back to the pier. This time I put the camera on ISO 2000. Wouldn't you know it, there were now 3 Common Loons near the fishing pier! I spent some time photographing the closest bird as the rain started to fall.
With the rain now coming down pretty hard I left the loons and ran back to the car and drove home.
Detroit River IWR--Refuge Gateway (Humbug Marsh), Wayne, Michigan, US
Apr 4, 2023 8:45 AM - 10:05 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Cloudy, misty
13 species
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 4
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 3
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) 1
Common Loon (Gavia immer) 3
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 1
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) 2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 1
Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) 1
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea) 17
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 5
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 7
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
