Dark Morning at the Moo - 08 Mar 2024
Skies were overcast/dark this morning as I arrived at Siegler Road at 8 am. Temps were hovering around 45F and winds were mild so (despite the low light) I was ready for a bike ride. The bike would take me for a quick loop along the North Causeway, around Cell 5 of the Banana, past Cell 4 and the Vermet Unit, and back via the Middle Causeway.
Small rafts of Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, and Bufflehead swam in the Huron River as I rode the North Causeway toward the Banana Unit. The ducks were mostly backlit so photos weren't in the cards. I would managed a couple of Ring-necked Ducks flying by.
I managed a few pics of a Northern Harrier that was flying over the Long Pond but distance/light was not the best.
The Vermet continues to host thousands of the above-mentioned ducks, plus Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Gadwall, and American Coot. Today would be very difficult to ID most of them due to the dark skies.
Canvasbacks swimming in the Humphries Unit also offered a few pics as they scampered away from the shoreline upon my approach.
Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Mar 8, 2024 8:00 AM - 9:45 AM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Overcast, dark, 45F
26 species (+2 other taxa)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) 84
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) 6
Gadwall (Mareca strepera) 26
American Wigeon (Mareca americana) 5
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 125
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 6
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 4
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) 16
Redhead (Aythya americana) 12
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 36
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) 24
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 340
Greater/Lesser Scaup (Aythya marila/affinis) 2500 This is considered a low number for the 5000+ ducks in the Vermet and Humphries Units. Guesstimated based on previous days counts and averaging # FOV's times 50 scaup / FOV.
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 30
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) 6
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 4
duck sp. (Anatidae (duck sp.)) 1500 Ring-necked, Gadwall, Canvasback, Redhead, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, and Northern Pintail.
American Coot (Fulica americana) 60
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 8
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 6
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 2
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea) 6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 4
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 36
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 2
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
