Great Egret Numbers Growing - 29 Jul 2024

I took a drive to Erie Marsh Preserve to look for shorebirds. Skies were overcast and a bit on the dark side with high humidity and 76F at 8 am.

Grabbing the scope and 600/4 I hiked out past Pond 1 to Pond 2 where I scoped shorebirds along the far west shoreline. The highlight of the morning was seeing 34 Stilt Sandpipers among the as-many Lesser Yellowlegs, a couple Short-billed Dowitchers, and several Semipalmated Sandpipers. Unfortunately no pictures would be had today due to the extreme distance and poor lighting.

I continued out the main trail past the Sulphur Pond and scoped Field E that was flooded and hosting a nice flock of 120 Great Egrets. Again, they were at scoping distance but I took a few pics anyway. No Snowy Egrets were among them.

Shorebird habitat was nowhere to be found so I continued on to the trail at the north end of Pond E. Thinking that I'd run into the pumphouse at the east end of the trail I was happy to find that it connected with the outer dike. Just before reaching the outer dike I spotted a pair of Eastern Kingbirds; one allowed a quick pic. 

The outer dike was relatively quiet, but did produce almost a dozen House Wrens, several Yellow Warblers, and a couple of Gray Catbirds. Unfortunately I was plagued by a number of stable flies that wanted to land on my face and neck; I walked as fast as I could, but the 1.5+ mile walk was wearing on me. Swarms of Tree Swallows and European Starlings would provide temporary relief as the flies would depart for their lives.

I'd stop to photograph Pond 9 from a cut in the trees

and stop long enough to photograph a Giant Swallowtail

and a Black Swallowtail.

When I reached the maintenance yard the overhead wires were teeming with dozens of Purple Martins.


Erie Marsh Preserve/Gun Club (no access Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Jul 29, 2024 8:00 AM - 10:11 AM
Protocol: Traveling
4.921 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Overcast, humid 76F
38 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  6
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  11
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)  8     2 ad and 6 cygnets
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  23
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  5
Greater/Lesser Scaup (Aythya marila/affinis)  6     6 Lesser Scaup on log next to outer dike near maint yard.
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  2
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  4
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  16
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  4
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  4
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  2
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  43
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  5
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  34     Pond 2 west shoreline
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  2
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  9
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  12
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  15
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  51     Roosting in field Pond 2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  128
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  16
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  7
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  2
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  6
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  125
Purple Martin (Progne subis)  86
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  12
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  2
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  5
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  256
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  3
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  17
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S189409095

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