Flight of the Whimbrel, and a Fork-tailed Flycatcher! - 26 May 2023

This morning a stiff north wind blew and temperature was 35F at 6 am. Skies were clear and forecast called for 70F today, so I took off for Pt. Mouillee SGA WITH MY SCOPE. By the time I had arrived at the Roberts Road Parking Lot the temperature was already 50F.

I was disappointed that the wind was blowing this morning. A light chop on the waters of the Humphries Unit meant riding into the wind most of the morning. Cell 1 held shorebirds, but I was unable to refind the Whimbrel or Black-bellied Plovers from last evening. The sunrise was backlighting the shorebirds so I did a cursory scan of the Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpipers and moved on. I did hear the "BET-BET-BET" call of a Black-necked Stilt and saw it dropping down along the east side of Cell 1. Construction crews were working along the path between Cells 2 and 3 so I continued along the west side of the Banana Unit to the Middle Causeway. 

As I rode down the Middle Causeway I caught sight of a single Greater Yellowlegs flying from the Humphries Unit into the Vermet Unit's southern shoreline. As I got off the bike to look for the bird I heard the distinct whistling of Whimbrels nearby. Scanning the Humphries I could not see anything until I looked up and saw a large flock (83 birds) flying northward over the Vermet!

A few minutes later I caught sight of another 73 birds flying west over the Humphries Unit. They were followed by another 52 Whimbrel flying west over the Humphries.

Continuing along the Middle Causeway to the west side of the Vermet I rode northward toward the North Causeway. Little of consequence was seen in the Long Pond Unit so there was no need for stopping. By now the temperature was warm enough to remove hat and gloves.

The North Causeway was quiet. I had hoped to find some Whimbrel along the Huron River shoreline but found only turtles and a few Herring Gulls. 

The ride around Cell 5 of the Banana Unit was also quiet. Only a few Canada Geese were in the trail with their young. Cell 4 north end was empty except for a few fishermen.

The American White Pelican colony could be seen from the east side of the Vermet Unit but I didn't stop to scope or count them. I estimated about 45 birds. 

The south end of Cell 4 was also quiet. No gulls nor ducks were swimming by the barges or equipment. I would stop along the east side of Cell 3 to photograph a Forster's Tern that was moving toward me.

Other than a few pairs of Eastern Kingbirds I had no reason to stop. My plan would be to ride back around Cell 1 and head home after checking for more shorebirds.

Fork-tailed Flycatcher????

As I was riding south along the east side of Cell 2 north of the ponds and flooded fields the area to my right was covered mostly in fresh phragmites. I spotted a black and white flycatcher that I assumed was another Eastern Kingbird since I had just scattered a pair from the roadside stalks. 

However, when the bird passed directly overhead I noticed tail streamers and thought, "Fork-tailed Flycatcher???". I stopped the bike as fast as I could and raised the 600 mm lens overhead to try to photograph the bird, but I could not locate it in my viewfinder. 

I turned around to look for the bird but couldn't see it. I walked back north along the east side of Cell 2 all the way to Cell 3 but could not locate it. Shaking my head I walked back to the bike and continued on...

A half-hour later I ran into Todd and Karen Palgut scoping shorebirds in Cell 1 and half-heartedly told them about my "flycatcher" and lightly advised them to keep an eye out for it. I would then run into Bruce Arnold and Arnie Buehler and tell them the same. Thinking nothing of it I headed home.

I would get a notice on Discord late in the afternoon that Adam Byrne found a Fork-tailed Flycatcher in Cell 2 at Pt. Mouillee and that other birders were actively looking for it. It would not be refound. But, it verified for me that I actually did see one, so I reported it on eBird. Cool! Someone noted that it was the 300th species for Pt. Mouillee SGA. 

More Whimbrels

After my forking adventure I stopped to check out the flooded portions of Cell 2 to look for the Black-necked Stilt from earlier. A few Dunlin scattered as I rode by but I could not relocate the stilt (Bruce Arnold would later report 2 birds in the area). 

I decided to walk the path separating Cells 1 and 2 to check the flooded fields on either side. As I walked several more flocks of Whimbrel could be heard whistling and flying by. This time they were closer and I was able to get better images.

The flooded pond at the north end of Cell 1 held a single Whimbrel that was roosting close to my location. As I walked toward it w/ the idea of digiscoping a pair of Whimbrel flew over its head and landed farther to the west.

I then heard more Whimbrels and looked up in time to see a small flock of 24 birds flying overhead and heading west. When they banked they flew back over Cell 1 and attempted to land near the Whimbrel I was hoping to photograph. They feigned touching down and instead lifted off immediately and headed back to the west where they disappeared. 

Once they had moved on I took a few images of the roosting Whimbrel with the 600/4 lens before settling down to perform a digiscoping test. I had been curious to see if the Sony a1 at 30 fps was causing "rolling shutter" distortion during continuous shooting so I was going to test image quality at 30 fps vs. 20 fps vs. 10 fps vs. 5 fps. It would turn out that the distortion I was observing in consecutive frames was caused by moisture in the air and convection currents that would render one image sharp while the next image would appear blurry; this while shooting on a tripod with remote shutter release. A more extensive writeup will be presented at alphadigiscoping.blogspot.com.

I left the Whimbrel and continued walking west to look for more birds and to check out the rest of the ponds and fields near the west side of the Banana. Dunlin were plentiful but backlit, so I didn't try to photograph them. 

I returned to the bike and found a Black-bellied Plover near where the Whimbrel was located (it was now gone). The plover took off as I approached and I managed only a record shot in flight.

Another pair of Whimbrel would fly by as I headed back around the south side of Cell 1. 

I then ran into the Palguts and chatted with them. They had refound my pair of Short-billed Dowitchers from last evening and the Greater Yellowlegs. Otherwise no other odd shorebirds were found. Todd would give me the location of the Yellow-breasted Chat from Oakwoods Metropark and said that it was easy to find as it was singing constantly during the morning hours. I decided to stop there before heading home.

Pte. Mouillee SGA, Monroe, Michigan, US
May 26, 2023 8:00 AM - 11:10 AM
Protocol: Traveling
8.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, cool, 45F to 55F w/ north wind 10-15 mph
47 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  100     Estimated 25 pair w/ average 4 young per family
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  6
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  2
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  2     Cell 2 continuing
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  6
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  6     Vermet Unit opposite Huron River
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  2
Sora (Porzana carolina)  2     Cell 2
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  2
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  1
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  6
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  6
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)  237     Several large flocks flying over the SGA this morning during the ride. I reported on Discord groups of 83, 72, 52, and had another 30 birds in Cell 1 just before leaving. All flocks "whistled" as they flew so it was easy to be alerted to them. Pics. Large brown shorebirds w/ long decurved bills and striped heads.
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)  1
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  200
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  6
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  65
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  2     Dowitchers in Cell 1 foraging among Dunlin and SESP. Very little "red" coloration but images show mostly basic molt pattern with orange feathers on chest and flanks starting to come in patch-like. Suspect them to be L. g. hendersonii despite having more of a L.g.griseus appearance. Photos upon request.
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  1
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  1
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  1
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  2
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  12
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  16
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  24
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  1
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  3
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  2
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  10     Five sets of paired birds all along the Banana Unit.

Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana)  1     I was riding south along the Lake Erie shoreline opposite Cell 2 in an area of phragmites just north of the current ponds. I had seen 4-5 pairs of Eastern Kingbirds during the morning ride and assumed that this black-and-white flycatcher flying directly toward me was another Eastern. However, when it passed overhead I noticed long streamers and thought "Fork-tailed Flycatcher!". However, I was unable to get my 600mm f/4 lens on the bird as it flew overhead and lost it. I walked the length of Cell 2 on foot trying to relocate the bird but was unable to. I wrote it off as an Eastern Kingbird with molting tail feathers, and half-lightly mentioned to Todd and Karen Palgut a few minutes later that I might have seen one?? Turns out Adam Byrne "found" the bird this evening in the same location and reported it on Mich-Listers.

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  2
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  12
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  4
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  4
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S139366730

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