Turnstones and Sanderlings - 28 May 2024

I patched the front tire of the bicycle yesterday and it appeared to hold so I headed down to Pt. Mouillee SGA this morning before wind / rain were expected. My plan was to check out the Walpatich Unit to look for Glossy Ibis (continuing) and then to Cell 3 to look for shorebirds.

At 7:15 am I drove down Haggerman Rd by the Antennae Farm. A pair of Eastern Meadowlarks in the field to my right were a nice find, as was the Dickcissel singing on the fence to my left. 

Antenna Farm, Monroe, Michigan, US
May 28, 2024 7:15 AM - 7:25 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear skies, breezy, cool 58F
6 species

Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  12
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  2
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  6
Dickcissel (Spiza americana)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S177895105

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

Arriving at the Mouillee Creek parking lot at 7:30 am I took the bike out on the Middle Causeway and headed to the north end of the Walpatich Unit. There I turned north and headed to where I saw the ibis pair a few days ago. As I arrived a small squadron of 6 American White Pelicans flew overhead with the idea to join another pair of birds in the open marsh but decided to head south toward the Humphries Unit. I managed a few fly-by photos.

I scoped the Walpatich Unit from the SE corner but failed to see any evidence of the Glossy Ibis pair. Instead I found a nice mix of Dunlin (24), Semipalmated Sandpipers (30), Semipalmated Plovers (23), and 4 Whimbrel! I was able to digiscope them from the middle dike.

Other nice finds were several Wood Ducks, a pair of American Wigeon, and several Blue-winged Teal.

I continued north around the north side of the Laughtenschlager Unit then backtracked south along the east side. Along the way a Willow Flycatcher flew in and provided a few pics from the bike.

Swamp Sparrows and Marsh Wrens were singing loudly as I rode. The Laughtenschlager Unit was empty except for a pair of Trumpeter Swans that announced their presence with loud trumpeting and wingbeats. I managed to stop the bike as they flew toward then past me.

With winds now blowing steady at 20 mph from the SW my ride to the Banana Unit was relatively easy. I headed straight to the NE corner of Cell 3 where I was able to hop the ditch and walk out onto the soft, cracked-mud flats to get closer to the shorebirds. A small patch of phragmites allowed me some cover so I could scope the exposed mudflats and large pond that held dozens of American White Pelicans, Caspian Terns, Forster's Terns, and Canada Geese.

As I began scanning the shorebird flock I spotted one, two, twelve, twenty, forty-plus Ruddy Turnstones scattered along the shoreline. As I counted them I spotted a Willet, then five Red Knots, and the first of three dozen Sanderlings among even more Semipalmated Sandpipers and 100+ Dunlin.

Winds were blowing steady directly at me, and distance from the shorebirds removed any motivation to digiscope birds. However, when a small flock of Sanderlings and Semipalmated Sandpipers landed a few feet away from me I relented. Semipalmated Sandpipers included a mix of birds molting into breeding plumage and birds still in basic plumage.

A few Sanderlings wandered by and allowed some digiscoping to show their breeding plumage.

I made another scope sweep of the shorebird flock next to water and managed to find another 3 Whimbrel on shore and six Northern Shovelers among a dozen Gadwall in the water.

Another flock of shorebirds flew in and landed nearby so I turned the 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 lens on them. More photos of Semipalmated Sandpipers and Sanderlings resulted.

The high winds were now bringing rain so I headed back to the back and rode south to the beach area opposite Cell 3. There I found a single Bonaparte's Gull

and a small group of Ruddy Turnstones that were close enough to photograph. Another 18 Ruddy Turnstones would fly by as I rode back to the car.

The ride back to the car was uneventful. The Middle Causeway was relatively quiet and I spent my time pushing against the 20 mph winds that were slowing me down. I'd return to the car by 10 am and head home.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
May 28, 2024 7:23 AM - 9:43 AM
Protocol: Traveling
8.233 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, breezy, 58F. Sprinkles
61 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  120
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  2
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)  2     Flyover pair in Laughtensclager Unit. Trumpeting; black bills and rust-stained head and necks
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  3
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  4
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  6
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  12
American Wigeon (Mareca americana)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  2
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  1
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  4
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)  4
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)  8
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  2
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)  2
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  2
American Coot (Fulica americana)  4
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  6
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  63     38 in Cell 3, 2 on beach across from Cell 3 and 23 in Walpatich Unit.
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)  7
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  1
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  1
Willet (Tringa semipalmata)  1     Cell 3; large gray shorebird w large straight bill and blue-gray legs.
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)  64     18 on beach and 46 in Cell 3
Red Knot (Calidris canutus)  5     All together in Cell 3; peach-red large shorebirds w straight black bills.
Sanderling (Calidris alba)  38
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  225
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  2
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  146
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  12
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  1
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  6
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  12
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  14
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  26
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)  1
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  14
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  6
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)  4
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  2
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  1
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)  6
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  18
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  2
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  4
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  18
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  66
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  3
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  6
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S177787013

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