More Walpatich Shorebirds - 25 Jul 2024

I arrived at the Mouillee Creek parking lot at 8:45 am under partly sunny skies, mild temps (72F) and a light breeze (5-10 mph from the SW). Looping around to the north end of the Walpatich Unit I looked for shorebirds that seem to have thinned in the past two days. Along the west shoreline I kept flushing (3) Green Herons from the marsh but was too slow to catch them flying across the creek into the trees to my left.

Only a couple Pectoral Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers were among the half-dozen Killdeer along the north side of the Walpatich. It wasn't until I headed over to the east dike that I came upon a couple of Pectoral Sandpipers close enough to digiscope. 

 

A Stilt Sandpiper appeared nearby and offered up some nice digiscoped images from about 30' away.

Here is a short video of the bird foraging.

Toward the middle of the Unit I spotted several Short-billed Dowitchers and this Wilson's Snipe.

Returning to the nearby shorebirds another Pectoral Sandpiper foraged its way into view.

A Solitary Sandpiper was in scope view but obscured by dancing phragmites. I had to settle for a Lesser Yellowlegs nearby.

Out to the north four Sandhill Cranes announced their presence as they flew into the marsh, and would congregate near the south end of the Walpatich Unit.

The large dead tree in the middle of the Unit was hosting a small number of Tree Swallows this morning. The Bald Eagle was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, a handful of Barn Swallows were foraging over the water.

Just before moving on I spotted a pair of Painted Turtles basking along the mud bank a few yards away. 

I had planned to return to the car and drive to Roberts Road, then bike out to Cell 3 to see its status, but decided to continue biking the Middle Causeway to the Banana. A pair of Forster's Terns were the only birds in the Humphries Unit, and the shallow waters of the Vermet only held a few Great Egrets.

Pumping had ceased in the NW corner of Cell 3 and a portion of the Cell was exposed (there might be some visible mudflat in the coming weeks). I continued to the NE corner but found it blocked off with the dredge piping now strung along the east shoreline.

I debated my next move and decided to ride down to the junction between Cells 2 and 1, over to the Lake Erie shoreline, and back north to the NE corner of Cell 3. Surprisingly the east shoreline of Cell 3 was still dry, but the western half was under water with only a couple dozen Mallard, American Coot,  Pied-billed Grebes, and a half dozen Greater Yellowlegs. A pair of Semipalmated Sandpipers were spotted in the NW corner. Gulls and terns were gone.

I'd head back to the bike, ride down to the Roberts Road parking lot, and continue on Roberts Road back to the Turnpike and to the Mouillee Creek parking lot. 

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Jul 25, 2024 8:43 AM - 10:49 AM
Protocol: Traveling
11.49 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Ptly sunny 72F, winds 5-10 mph from SW
52 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  34
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  6
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  23
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)  1
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  2
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  6
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  8
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  8
American Coot (Fulica americana)  4
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  4
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  28
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  6
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  1
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  4
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)  2
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  18
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  4
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  4
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  4
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  10
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  4
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  2
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  17
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  3
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  9
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  3
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  8
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)  1
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  12
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  4
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  1
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  32
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  4
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  7
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  28
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  3

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S188738080

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