Knot a Bad Morning At All - 25 Aug 2024

I was excited to get out to Pt. Mouillee this morning after reports of Ruddy Shelducks and Red Knots were spotted yesterday. I also wanted to scan Cell 3 from the east side to see how shorebirding was developing after recent dredge pumping. I was not disappointed.

Skies were mostly cloudy with some Sun-breaks, winds were calm, and at 8:15 am it was 70F and very humid. I'd have to remove my glasses since they kept fogging when I put them to bins or camera. I parked at Siegler Rd. and biked out onto the North Causeway. The rising Sun was gorgeous this morning.

Things were relatively quiet until I reached the Vermet Unit. I could see off to the east and south a great gathering of Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons. I waited until I reached Banana Unit and the east side of the Vermet before I'd attempt to count them.

I took a number of photos with the Sony a1 and 600/4 lens of the Great Egrets with the idea of making a super-panorama, but the photos were too large and I crashed the computer... These are a sampling of the images I had attempted to stitch together.

I would ultimately take a video sweep and count the birds from individual (25) fields-of-view from the video playback. I came up with 712 Great Egrets and 134 Great Blue Herons!

I thought I was seeing more Great Egrets in the farther west portion of the Vermet Unit but they turned out to be a dozen American White Pelicans. And surprise! I found the Ruddy Shelducks that had been reported this past week. Five orange-brown ducks w/ white wing coverts, light heads and black tails! These images were digiscoped at 60X magnification (EFL ~ 3600 mm). Thankfully, I had the remote.

I then turned my attention to the expanse of mud stretched along the east shore of the Vermet Unit with the hopes of finding the Red Knots reported yesterday. Several Green Herons were the first to appear along the shoreline.

Lesser Yellowlegs were the first shorebirds to appear as I rode south opposite of Cell 5. 

Up ahead I could hear the first of many Killdeer and Semipalmated Sandpipers.

As I reached the north shore of Cell 4 I spotted a Red Knot foraging in the mud along the east side of the Vermet. 

A juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper made for a nice size comparison.

It was soon joined by a second Red Knot. This one showed a bit more peach in its breast coloration. 

After enough digiscoped images and photos with the 600/4 I continued south along the dike. A juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher appeared and cooperated for some images.

As I approached a large pond with a cluster of shorebirds I spotted a third Red Knot!

Here is a pic of the knot next to a Semipalmated Sandpiper. 

I counted 8 Stilt Sandpipers and another Short-billed Dowitcher in the pond among several Lesser Yellowlegs and more Semipalmated Sandpipers. 

Just before continuing south I flushed a number of Blue-winged Teal, six Wilson Snipe, and a small flock of European Starlings. 

I then started for Cell 3, but stopped when came upon this school of Carp wallowing next to shore.

Riding around to the Lake Erie shoreline I headed south along Cell 3 and stopped at the 2nd opening near the north end of the Lake Erie beachfront. Mudflats were expansive and there was evidence of waterfowl and shorebirds to the south and west. 

Several dozen Mallard, American Coot and Green-winged Teal were swimming in open water. As I counted them through the scope the five Ruddy Shelducks dropped down in my scope view! This gave me an opportunity to get a few closer images of the birds. 

Shorebirds working the waterline included Semipalmated Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, and this White-rumped Sandpiper. Note the smoky gray head with the white eyeline, and the gray necklace.

Compare with the Semipalmated Sandpiper that is smaller, shows a light throat, and thin necklace. You can also see a lot of "brown" in the Semipalmated Sandpiper opposed to the all-gray White-rumped Sandpiper.

I was also surprised when a Long-billed Dowitcher foraged into view. Note the all-gray basic plumage of the bird (Short-billed Dowitchers do not molt until they reach their wintering grounds). 

This juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper appeared at my feet just before leaving. I took the opportunity to get some close-up images with the 600/4 so that I could compare it with the juvenile Baird's Sandpiper that I'd find on the way back to the car. 

Note the black-and-white feathering with orange highlights on this juvenile bird. Bill is short and blunt and the necklace is largely isolated to the shoulders with just a thin blush extending under a pale throat.

As I rode back to the car along the North Causeway I ran into Brian Beauchene who alerted me to a Baird's Sandpiper in the Vermet Unit next to the canoe ramp. Note that it also has mainly black and white scalloped feathering but lacks the orange-brown coloration seen in the Semipalmated Sandpiper. Any brown is a dark brown-black coloration, which gives it a two-toned coloration. Bill is straight, and wings project beyond the tail.

The bird has a more distinct necklace that extends farther onto the chest.

I'd return to the car and listen for the Sedge Wren I found a few days ago, but dipped. I'd head home a happy digiscoper.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 25, 2024 8:14 AM - 10:49 AM
Protocol: Traveling
9.52 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Mostly cloudy, humid, calm 70F
46 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  86
Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea)  5     Continuing. First spotted in Vermet Unit next to roosting American White Pelicans, then flew to Cell 3 where they landed in my scope view as I was counting teal along the south shore. These are presumed escapees but appear wide-ranging, first found at Erie Marsh Preserve a week ago, then spending this past week at Pt. Mouillee. Orange-brown in color with the head appearing lighter. Flight feathers are black, and contrast with white coverts that are partially visible. Black tail. No evidence of leg bands but provenance is unknown.

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  32
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  13
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  167
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  22
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  5
Sora (Porzana carolina)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  22
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  12
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  14
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)  1     Cell 3; plump dowitcher in basic plumage (all gray) is diagnostic this time of year as SBDO do not molt until they are on wintering grounds.
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  6
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  22
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  5
Red Knot (Calidris canutus)  3     East shoreline of Vermet Unit just opposite of Cell 4 north shoreline. Foraging in open mud. Large gray shorebirds w/ dark-gray tipped feathers and white fringes give a fish-scale appearance. Peach blush on molting adult and two fresh juveniles.
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  16
Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii)  1
White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)  1
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  8
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  4
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  145
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  4
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  34
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  46
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  120
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  23
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)  1
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  3
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  732     Large colony of 712 GREG in Vermet Unit (exact count from videocapture; 25 FOV) plus another 20 scattered in Vermet, Walpatich and Long Pond.
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  134     Exact count of colony in Vermet Unit among GREG. Counted from videocapture and 25 FOV using spotting scope and digiscoping.
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  2
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  1
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  6
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  55
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  4
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  34

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S192731994

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