Morning at the Refuge - 11 Apr 2023

Clear skies and temps forecasted to reach 60F made for a perfect morning to walk the Humbug Marsh Unit of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.

I arrived shortly before 8 am and headed to the fishing pier to look for loons (again). As expected, though, both the pier and the Detroit River were packed with fishermen and fishing boats. All of the waterfowl still remaining were clustered in the waters between Humbug Island and the refuge. No loons were seen.


Parking at the Visitor Center I walked the Short-loop Trail (Orange Trail on the map). A few Bufflehead were swimming near shore but lighting was harsh to the east. I fared better on the west side of the loop (Marker 5) where I spotted a pair of Wood Ducks swimming in the Monguagon Delta. They didn't stick around long but provided some nice backdrops as they flew off toward Marker 8. 








A pair of American Tree Sparrows flew into the brush next to the boardwalk, and were then joined by a slightly more cooperative Song Sparrow. 




Otherwise, the place was relatively quiet. 

I then headed to the Old Growth Forest with the intent to walk down to its farthest point. A Worm-eating Warbler was spotted at Lake Erie Metropark yesterday by Bobby Irwin, but was not relocated. I was curious to see if it might show up here... It didn't. A Great Blue Heron roosting in the trees was a neat find. 


The trails were a bit muddy, but walkable. A Hermit Thrush and a pair of Eastern Phoebes were the only real highlight of the walk. That, and the fact that I could remove my gloves and hat for the first time this year.

At the south end of the refuge (Marker 14) I sat for a few minutes and. photographed the Tree Swallows that were starting to nest along the canal and river's edge.





On my return I spotted a very disheveled White-throated Sparrow (tan morph) that appeared to be a young male transitioning into adult plumage. 


Detroit River IWR--Refuge Gateway (Humbug Marsh), Wayne, Michigan, US
Apr 11, 2023 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     60F clear skies
9 species

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  3
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  6
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)  1
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)  2
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S158578173

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