Virginia Rail - 19 Jul 2024
I parked at Mouillee Creek parking lot at 7:30 am this morning. Skies were clear, temp 60F and no wind. Gorgeous. I was interested in seeing the status of Cell 3 after dredge-pumping began a couple days ago.
Biking around the west side of the Walpatich to the north end I heard/saw the usual mix of Willow Flycatchers, Common Yellowthroats, Great Egrets, Swamp Sparrows and Marsh Wrens. I reached the north end of the Unit and headed east until the shallow marsh came into view. Eastern Kingbirds greeted me from the dried field at the south end of the Nelson Unit to my left.
A few Lesser Yellowlegs were foraging near shore but scattered upon my approach. I then flushed a juvenile Virginia Rail from the near shore and watched as it flew to the cattail marsh to the west. It landed at the edge of the cattails and proceeded to forage, so I was able to get some digiscoped images before it disappeared into the thick vegetation. Note the black belly that will transition to chestnut when it matures.
Continuing on around to the east side of the Walpatich Unit I paused when a Swamp Sparrow began singing atop the phragmites nearby. The bedraggled bird permitted a few digiscoped images in the morning Sun.
Killdeer and Lesser Yellowlegs were scattered in the Walpatich at a dozen a piece but I failed to see any dowitchers. Three Least Sandpipers were the only other shorebirds. So I grabbed the gear and continued north around the north side of the Lautenschlager Unit to the trail along the west side of the Long Pond Unit. Along the way the first gathering of Purple Martins appeared atop a dead tree in the Nelson Unit.
I wanted to check out the west side of the Long Pond Unit to see if there was any shorebird habit but that required that I take the abandoned trail along the shoreline. By abandoned I mean "not mowed". I would have to push the bike through 6-ft tall vegetation saturated with morning dew. By the time I reached the North Causeway I would be waterlogged from the chest down. But, I did come across some lovely tiny Skippers and several Bronze Copper Butterflies.
As I rode east along the North Causeway toward the Banana Unit I took in the large patches of Rose Mallow growing along the shoreline of the Long Pond Unit.
A family of three Common Gallinules were swimming in the open water of the Long Pond, but otherwise all was quiet. Same went for the north side of the Vermet Unit.
Reaching the Banana I headed south along the east shoreline of the Vermet Unit looking for shorebird habitat. Some mudflats were present but only a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs and Killdeer made use of them.
I reached the north end of Cell 3 and found a dredge pipe strung across the path to the Lake Erie shoreline. The pipe extended from the large barge along the south end of Cell 4 to the NW corner of Cell 3 where it was pumping dredge material into the NW corner of Cell 3. With crew present I was forced to ride south along the west side of Cell 3 down to the path separating Cells 1 - 2 to get to the Lake Erie shoreline. I then rode back north along the Lake Erie shoreline to Cell 3 and the path into Cell 3.
The east portion of Cell 3 continues to be dry with the mud now hard enough to kick up dust when I walked. However, only a pair of Greater Yellowlegs were in the pond to my immediate left (south). Another dozen or so Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs were the only shorebirds foraging the water line that was now starting to encroach the dried mudflats from the NW. Short-billed Dowitchers and Killdeer were gone. The tern colony only consisted of a few dozen Caspian Terns and Forster's Terns; the Black Terns were gone. It will be interesting to see how much of the cell fills with water over the next days and/or weeks.
I headed back to the bike and rode south along the Lake Erie shoreline to the South Causeway. The beach opposite Cell 3 was littered with seaweed from the strong inshore winds the past week or so and only Canada Geese and a lone Lesser Scaup was present.
As I reached the Roberts Road parking lot I heard a Green Heron calling from atop a snag next to the bay to my left.
I biked out Roberts Road back to US Turnpike and to the Mouillee Creek parking lot. Along the way I was able to pick up House Wren, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, Yellow Warbler and Warbling Vireo. Near the landfill / quarry I heard the loud "Keeeeeer" of a Red-tailed Hawk soaring overhead; I'd see its mate just a short distance later.
For the time being future trips will either originate at Roberts Road or just involve trips around the Walpatich Unit.
Jul 19, 2024 7:28 AM - 10:10 AM
Protocol: Traveling
12.771 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Status of Cell 3: a dredge pipe is across the N end of Cell3 coming from the barge at the S end of Cell 4. Dredgings are being pumped into the NW corner of Cell 3. The only access to Cell 3 is from the Roberts Rd parking lot to S Causeway north to path between cells 1-2 east to the lakeshore and north to cell 3. There is a path into Cell 3 about 100 yd north of a white barrel in the NE portion of the cell. Currently the SE portion remains dry but water is encroaching from the NW. only a dozen LEYE and GRYE remain. 1 STSP. Black Terns and dowitchers have left. Only Caspian and Forsters Terns remain.
Clear, sunny, 60F, winds 0-5mph from SW
55 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 37
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 7
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) 2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 33
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 2
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) 1
Redhead (Aythya americana) 2
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 6
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 6
Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) 1
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata) 3
American Coot (Fulica americana) 8
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 12
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) 2
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 25
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 7
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) 1
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 3
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 35
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) 23
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 11
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) 6
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) 1
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 1
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 24
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 4
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) 3
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) 2
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) 1
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) 6
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 5
Purple Martin (Progne subis) 35
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) 5
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 8
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) 3
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 6
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 35
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 7
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) 56
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 3
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 2
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) 8
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
