Morning Ride at the Mou - 04 Apr 2026

Although temps were hovering at 34F skies were mostly clear and (apparently) calm. I grabbed the bike and headed to Pt. Mouillee SGA. Taking the South Huron River Drive exit from I-75 s I headed toward  Haggerman Road s. to check out the Antenna Farm. But not before admiring a nice Ring-necked Pheasant male strutting across the Fort Street / S. Huron River Drive intersection.

At the Antenna Fram birds were singing, including several Eastern Meadowlarks and the first Savannah Sparrows of the season. A pair of meadowlarks were near the road at the east end of the fence line so I was able to grab a few fly-by pics as they flew off.

Antenna Farm, Monroe, Michigan, US
Apr 4, 2025 7:23 AM - 7:27 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.601 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Pt cloudy, cool, calm 35F
5 species

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)  1
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)  2
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)  5

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S222819071

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

I parked at Mouillee Creek and headed out toward the north end of the Walpatich Unit. Blue-winged Teal were packed into the shallow marsh waters by the dozens (I oounted 75). Two dozen Greater White-fronted Geese would be reported from this same area later in the morning, but I didn't see them.

I headed north toward the North Causeway and scattered more teal as I rode. Gadwall, Mallard, and Northern Shovelers were making their presence known, but lighting was poor and the birds were too far at a distance to bother with photos. I would settle for nice looks at a Bald Eagle chasing an Osprey with a fish in its talons. 

Winds picked up along the North Causeway as I rode east, and were blowing at a constant 10-20 mph from the North. I would have to wait until I got around to the NE corner of Cell 4 before I had both the wind and the Sun at my back. My reward for getting this far was a Short-eared Owl that flushed from the phragmites to my right (s. end of Cell 5) and flew along the trail ahead of me.

Ducks were largely absent from Cell 4 but I did see a Horned Grebe near the NW corner.

Approximately 1200 Lesser / Greater Scaup and American Coot were swimming in the Vermet but far out of camera range. I'd ride down to Cell 3 to look for more ducks to photograph but find only a second Horned Grebe. It would not be until I headed west along the Middle Causeway that the small rafts of Lesser and Greater Scaup would scatter from the shoreline that I'd get some photo opps. Surprisingly most of the scaup in this area were Greater Scaup.

A few Double-crested Cormorants were among them.

The white extensions from secondaries to primaries help ID these birds as Greater Scaup.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Apr 4, 2025 7:31 AM - 9:26 AM
Protocol: Traveling
9.467 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Pt sunny, 38F, winds 10-20 mph from N. Chorus frogs singing.
43 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  86
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  32
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  85
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  77
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  136
American Wigeon (Mareca americana)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  230
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)  2
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  18
Redhead (Aythya americana)  2
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)  7
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)  13
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  230
Greater/Lesser Scaup (Aythya marila/affinis)  1600
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  62
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)  2
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  3
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  4
Sora (Porzana carolina)  1
American Coot (Fulica americana)  450
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  7
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  4
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  7
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  1
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  2
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  9
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  16
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  20
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  2
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)  1     Flushed from s end of Cell 5 and flew over Vermet to west. Pics
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  6
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  8
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)  6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  12
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  206
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  45

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S222849236

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