Windy Eve at Pt Moo - 22 Apr 2024
After failing to see any Marbled Godwits at Erie Marsh this morning I wondered if maybe they had moved north to Pt. Mouillee. With forecasts for rain this evening and cold, cloudy, chilly weather tomorrow and Wednesday I decided I should take a ride to look for them.
Winds were blowing from the SSW so it was at my back as I rode out the Middle Causeway to the Walpatich Unit then north toward Long Pond, Nelson Units and the North Causeway. Only when I was riding due south did the winds become a chore.
The Walpatich Unit north of the Middle Causeway was loaded with Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, American Coot, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs.
Photo opps were few but this Greater Yellowlegs did not flush and allowed close enough approach to digiscope.
The first Canada Goose families have appeared. Average hatchling size was 5 - 7 goslings.
One to two American Bitterns were quietly "chunking" in the marsh nearby, but fairly faint. Danny Bernard would report 4-6 bitterns in the area.
At the North Causeway I headed east toward the Banana Unit. Winds were still somewhat favorable as I rode and scattered small flocks of Lesser Scaup were still in the Huron River and in the Vermet Unit. No shorebirds, however.
Riding became a chore as I rode along the Lake Erie shoreline along Cell 5. I ran into Army Corp workers who are getting ready to pump dredgings from Cell 4 into Cell 5 fields. I was tempted to cut the ride short when I reached the Middle Causeway, but decided to continue down Cell 3 shoreline and check out the sand spit (nada).
The view to the west was severely backlit, but the mudflats in Cell 3 north held hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Caspian Terns, American White Pelicans, and Dunlin. At one point they flushed from the mudflats and headed out to the Lake where the Bonaparte's formed a tight feeding flock to the east.
As I rode back to the Middle Causeway I heard the loud "kiddick-kiddick-kiddick" of a Virginia Rail from the north edge of Cell 3.
The ride back to the car was not horrible, but any turns to the south were immediately met with strong winds to the face. I'd get back to the car by 7:30 pm and home by 8 pm.
Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Apr 22, 2024 5:20 PM - 7:12 PM
Protocol: Traveling
9.99 mile(s)
35 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 6
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) 42
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) 66
Gadwall (Mareca strepera) 12
American Wigeon (Mareca americana) 2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 17
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 6
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 260
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 1
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 4
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 2
Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 2
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) 1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 8
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 7
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) 220
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 320
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 19
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 36
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) 26
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 12
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) 18
American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) 1
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 6
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 8
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 130
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 16
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)
