Good Shorebirding at Pt. Mouillee - 29 Aug 2024

With the bike tire repaired and only a couple days left before Pt. Mouilllee closes to hunting (Sept. 1) I wanted to get down and look for shorebirds.  The morning was overcast and humid with a scattering of mist greeting me as I arrived at Mouillee Creek parking lot.

A loop around the Walpatich Unit netted a half-dozen Greater Yellowlegs, three Lesser Yellowlegs, and four Pectoral Sandpipers. 

I headed north to the North Causeway and rode out to the east side of the Vermet. Pied-billed Grebes were the only birds on the Huron River so I didn't need to stop until I reached the Banana Unit. Last night's rains brought water levels up a bit so there was less mud exposed.

Greater Yellowlegs were the only shorebirds to greet me as I rode south along the east side of the Vermet. 

However, a Willet appeared and caught my undivided attention for the next 10 minutes. 

Another surprise appeared in the form of a Ruddy Turnstone that joined the Willet on the same tiny outcropping of rocks.

A small flock of Pectoral Sandpipers flew in but landed in the lily pads and disappeared from view. 

That was ok because I found the pair of Red Knots that continue to forage in this area and were reported yesterday.

As I continued south I ran into a solitary White-rumped Sandpiper that was sitting in the middle of the mudflat below me. Note the very slight evidence of a two-toned bill and the fine streaking on the breast of this molting adult.

Compare with the slightly smaller Semipalmated Sandpiper (juvenile).

A Solitary Sandpiper was also found.

I ran into Todd Palgut and Amber Piotter and directed to the above-mentioned birds. I continued toward the Middle Causeway to look for the Buff-breasted Sandpiper that Justin reported last evening (Happy Bird-day, Justin!). As I rode a female Common Goldeneye swam out from the shoreline of Cell 4 to my left. Early bird!

As I reached the middle portion of the Vermet Unit from the Middle Causeway I ran into Ross Green and Bruce Arnold. They were scoping the distant mud flat for the Buff-breasted Sandpiper without luck. But, Ross found it shortly after I got my scope set up and soon all 3 of us were on the bird. Barely. It was just a speck a quarter-mile away. This is a digiscoped image at 3600 mm EFL.

It soon disappeared altogether so I headed out to Cell 3 where an American Avocet and 4 Long-billed Dowitchers were reported. I'd see the avocet (thanks, Ross) and the dowitchers, but their ID was difficult due to distance and weeds obscuring their view. Four more White-rumped Sandpipers were a nice find, though, as was a singing Sora.

Just a few feet out from my scope a half-dozen Semipalmated Sandpipers were foraging so I took a few images.

As it was getting late in the morning I headed back toward the car and home. I'll be back on Saturday for the last day of birding here until December.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 29, 2024 8:27 AM - 11:22 AM
Protocol: Traveling
9.343 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Overcast, 69F, 0-5 moh
54 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  34
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  10
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  8
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  240
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  12
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)  1     Female type Cell 4 just s of Middle Causeway. Pics
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  24
Sora (Porzana carolina)  1
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  3
American Coot (Fulica americana)  7
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  12
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  2
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  4
Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus/scolopaceus)  5     Suspected to be Long-billed Dowitchers, however poor looks through weeds in Cell 3 prevented positive ID. A group of about 8 dowitchers were present with 3 defiinitive Short-billed Dowitcher juveniles.
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  1
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  1
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)  1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  10
Willet (Tringa semipalmata)  1
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  8
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)  1
Red Knot (Calidris canutus)  2     Continue east Vermet. Pics
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  4
Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis)  1
Sanderling (Calidris alba)  1
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  2
White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)  6     3 in east Vermet and up to 4 in Cell 3. Pics
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  2
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  7
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  23
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  36
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  4
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  6
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  36
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  23
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  1
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  224
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  18
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  24
Purple Martin (Progne subis)  4
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  11
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  129
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  4
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  15
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  4
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S193168141

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