Rain, Thunder and Birds - 08 May 2025

Forecasts called for early morning rain between 6 - 7 am then clearing for the rest of the day. Mother Nature said, "Ha!". It rained until 10 am. Hard. And with thunder.

I drove down to Monroe to visit Jack and Janet Volker. They had just returned from 5 months in South Carolina and this was their first outing since getting home on Monday. Our plan was to drive to Petersburg State Game Area to look for Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers. 

We arrived at about 7:30 am just as the rain let up. We parked in a pull-off just off Lulu Road near Teal Rd. and immediately heard the calls of Eastern Towhees and Black-throated Green Warblers. Walking into the adjoining meadow we heard Ovenbird, Wood Thrush, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Nashville Warbler, and Gray Catbird. 

Warblers were moving through the trees but extremely high at the tips of the canopy. I got lucky when this Blue-winged Warbler alerted me with its "Bee-Buzzz" before landing in a tree just 20 feet off the ground. I managed a few pics before it disappeared. 

 

We then spent a bit of time walking the trail adjacent to the woods and parallel to the road and looked for warblers high in the canopy. At this point it began to rain again and we got soaked. 

We headed back to the parking lot and across the street where we looked for Golden-winged Warblers in the fields next to the parking lot but everything was now quiet. This Eastern Towhee was now the only bird visible as we walked.

We decided to drive to Whiteford Cemetery to look for a reported Lark Sparrow and White-eyed Vireo, but stopped when we saw Dave Riddle in a pull-off next to Teal Rd. He was into a flock of 15 warbler spp. so we decided to join him. I walked into the field next to the parking lot while Jack and Janet walked the road; I heard the "Bee-buzz-buzz" of a Golden-winged Warbler nearby and found it high atop a tree. Awful photos later I went looking for the Volkers.

This Rose-breasted Grosbeak replaced the GWWA in the same tree.

Petersburg SGA, Monroe, Michigan, US
May 8, 2025 7:29 AM - 8:38 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.399 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, raining, 45F
36 species

Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  1
Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  6
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  1
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  1
Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  1
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  7
Veery (Catharus fuscescens)  1
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  4
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)  4
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  2
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  5
Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)  2
Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera)  1     Photo. Singing Bee-zzzz-zzz
Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera)  2
Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina)  2
Nashville Warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla)  4
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)  2
Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina)  2
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)  2
Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia)  1
Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca)  3
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  4
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)  2
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens)  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  3
Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens)  6
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)  4
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S234546145

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

We arrived at Whiteford Cemetery and refound Dave Riddle and joined him for a walk into the field next to the cemetery. Things were much quieter than at Petersburg SGA and a light rain was falling. American Robins were the bird of the day here with almost a dozen birds flying in all directions.

We also managed a Northern Flicker and a distant Blue-headed Vireo before walking back to the car. Along the way a pair of Lincoln's Sparrows appeared near the edge of the woods and I managed a couple of photos before they disappeared.

We failed to see or hear the White-eyed Vireo, and despite a couple of loops through the cemetery proper we did not see any Lark Sparrows. We would settle for a singing Nashville Warbler before heading home to dry off.

Whiteford Cemetery, Monroe, Michigan, US
May 8, 2025 9:20 AM - 9:38 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.309 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Rain, thunder, cool, 45F
10 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)  1
Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  6
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  8
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  5
Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)  2
Nashville Warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S234576861

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