Pre-CBC Scouting - 13 Dec 2024
With the Monroe, MI CBC just 2 days away I had the opportunity to do a bit of scouting inside the count circle. Allen Chartier and I agreed to meet to walk the Lake Erie shoreline down to the Woodtick Peninsula. So before meeting him at 8 am I decided to try for a bit of owling at Sterling State Park beforehand.
I was up at 4:30 am and fed the kitties. I then grabbed the flash and flashlights and set up the Sony a1 and 200-600mm lens. I had to check last year's blog post on using the flash setup to successfully photograph owls and got that set up. At a little after 5 am I left the house and headed out the door. Skies were clear and temps were at 10F. Luckily there was no wind. It was still very cold.
I was on I-75 and N. Huron River Drive when I realized that I had forgotten my binoculars. So I had to turn around and head back home. I would not be back on the road to after 5:30 am and would not reach the state park until after 6 am.
I stopped on Waterworks Rd. just outside the park and tried for Saw-Whet Owls in the woodlot just south of the houses on the corner. No luck. I then tried for Eastern Screech Owl and had a reply within minutes of playing their call.
I had a bit of trouble focusing on the owl as it flew in and landed across the road. The lens was on 600 mm so I was too magnified. My initial attempts to photograph were meant with soft images. Once I got the lens back to 100-200 mm I had better luck focusing and got a few images. The flash got a few fast exposures but then went dark. Luckily the little owl was fairly cooperative and gave me good lucks as I struggled to get the flashlights and focus sharp (it would turn out that my headband was on the bright LEDs instead of the flashlight that would've given me a brighter subject to focus on).
I then parked behind the boat launch and walked into the tiny woodlot next to the berm. With no luck with Saw-Whets I tried the Eastern Screech Owl call again. I had a faint reply and managed to see it fly in and land in the tree nearby. Again, I had a bit of struggle focusing on the bird but managed a few pics from about 20' away. It didn't stick around so I tried for Long-eared Owls, then Great Horned Owls with no luck.
I then headed down to the south end of the park where the Saw-Whets were seen last year. I had no luck with any owls from this location.
Sterling SP, Monroe, Michigan, US
Dec 13, 2024 6:00 AM - 7:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Clear, calm, cold, 10F. 1/2 inch snow on ground.
1 species
Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) 2
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
I would then head over to McDonalds for a quick breakfast then head down to Erie Road to meet Allen at 8 am. We walked the beach south about 2 miles in the morning sunrise and luckily found the lack of wind giving us a comfortable walk. Ice was on Lake Erie out a quarter mile so any birds/ducks/geese were just specks on the horizon.
We would manage to see several Bald Eagles, Carolina Wren, Downy Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadees, a Northern Flicker and American Tree Sparrows. Otherwise it was fairly quiet. We'd be done by 10 am and I would head home for lunch.
Erie Rd. and Public Beach Access, Monroe, Michigan, US
Dec 13, 2024 7:57 AM - 10:02 AM
Protocol: Traveling
4.033 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Clear cold 13F calm
19 species (+3 other taxa)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) 6
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 50
Aythya sp. (Aythya sp.) 200
duck sp. (Anatidae (duck sp.)) 200
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 100
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) 3
Larus sp. (Larus sp.) 159
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 12
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 4
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 2
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 15
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 2
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea) 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 2
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 3
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Allen would then find a Ring-necked Pheasant as he headed out. Another CW bird?
