Bad Creek Unit - 30 Apr 2024

I drove down Roberts Road this morning and made stops along the tree line to look for warblers. It was mostly clear at 8 am with temps in the low 60's. 

Yellow Warblers were the most vocal. I did hear a few Palm Warblers and Yellow-rumped Warblers next to the car, but couldn't locate the birds close enough to photograph them. A Black-throated Green Warbler was a nice find, but again, heard only.

Near the abandoned silo I found a family of House Wren chasing each other by the Bad Creek shoreline but didn't get any pics. Yellow-rumped Warblers were moving through the trees. I heard a distant Blackpoll Warbler, Northern Parula, and American Redstart.

I drove to the Bad Creek Trail head just before the parking lot. The grass was thick and standing water lined the tire tracks on either side, but it was a nice morning to walk the Bad Creek and look for birds.

Yellow Warblers were actively chasing each other and foraging at eye level. Though fast, I managed a few nice portraits in the morning Sun.

Behind me a Carolina Wren was singing loudly from the shadows of the trees next to the marsh.

Overhead an Orchard Oriole was a nice find.

I walked the trail 0.75 miles out and back and found a pair of Common Yellowthroats singing and defending their territories.

A group of four Northern Rough-winged Swallows perched in the morning Sun while dozens of Blue-winged Teal flushed from the south end of the Humphries Unit / Bad Creek Unit to my right.

I headed home at 10 am just in time to see a report of a Loggerhead Shrike at the Antennae Farm. I almost drove down Haagerman Road on the way home but opted for Gibraltar Road instead. I'd return after lunch and miss the bird by 5 minutes. 2 hours of scanning the fence line w/ several other birds helped pass the time, but the bird would not be relocated until 5 minutes after I left. At least I wasn't attacked by the angry chicken.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Apr 30, 2024 8:56 AM - 9:23 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
43 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  18
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  18
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  4
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  2
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Sora (Porzana carolina)  1
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  4
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  3
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  7
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  2
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  6
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)  4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)  1
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  6
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  2
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)  1
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  12
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  4
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  6
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  3
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)  1
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)  1
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  14
Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata)  1
Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum)  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  6
Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S171117364

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