Ruddy Turnstones, Monroe Co. - 29 May 2025

My plan was to drive down to Pt. Mouillee and bike out to Cell 3 to check on shorebirds. Amber Piotter had just posted the Western Kingbird being detected by Merlin, but she had no luck seeing it. So I thought I"d give her a second pair of eyes.

A quick drive past Haggerman Rd. and the Antenna Farm produced a couple of Bobolink, Horned Larks and Song Sparrows, but not much else.

Antenna Farm, Monroe, Michigan, US
May 29, 2025 8:19 AM - 8:26 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.941 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Overcast 57F
12 species

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  1
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  2
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  3
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S244124855

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

I then cut down Rheaume Rd. and headed to the Roberts Road parking lot. Birds were quiet, but Merlin did pick up an American Redstart to go along with the Yellow Warblers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Indigo Buntings, and Gray Catbirds.

Skies were overcast and the Sun was trying to break through the haze, but it was just going to be a cloudy, misty, cool (55ºF) morning. I rode out along the South Causeway to Cell 1, turned left and headed north along Cell 1 to the junction of Cells 1 and 2.

There I ran into Amber. We chatted, and I continued on toward Cells 2 and 3 along the Lake Erie shoreline.  The Western Kingbird was not seen; only Red-winged Blackbirds and the occasional Common Grackle were scattering from the willows lining the shoreline.

I reached the SE corner of Cell 3 and spotted a pair, then a third Ruddy Turnstone working the sandy beach to my right. One poor little guy was limping, and its companion was egging it on as it limped and foraged in the flotsam.






A Sanderling appeared among them temporarily, then I saw another pair a bit farther north along the beach with a Semipalmated Plover.



I reached Cell 3 and walked out onto the mudflats to scan the water's edge 50 yds away. Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpipers were scattered along the shoreline but I failed to find the Red-necked Phalarope that Amber had reported earlier. The Black-necked Stilt was not seen, either. I would hear a Least Bittern calling from the edge of the open water, and Merlin would pick it up a bit later.

Instead I counted a dozen plus American White Pelicans, another 20 or so Bonaparte's Gulls, 65 Caspian Terns, two-dozen Forster's Terns, a single Sanderling and more Semipalmated Sandpipers. Out in the water a pair of Lesser Scaup continue, as well as a drake Northern Pintail that has been present for several days.



Out on the dried mudflats ahead of me a small flock of Semipalmated Sandpipers were foraging close enough for some pics. It gave me a chance to show some variation in bill size and extent of alternate (breeding) plumage.

At a distance several Semipalmated Sandpipers were sporting distinct bibs that triggered thoughts of White-rumped Sandpipers or Baird's Sandpipers. 



Closer examination reveals a fine bib indicative of a breeding adult Semipalmated Sandpiper. This individual shows slightly long wing projection and a longish straight bill suggestive of a Baird's Sandpiper, but the orange on the head and streaking on the flanks is still good for SESA. Bill length is known to be variable with some birds showing longer bills.





This one has the more typical appearance of a SESA; stubby short bill and wings that do not extend past the tail, and more compact, short collar. It may be a non-breeding adult.



This one also is short and compact but shows a more distinctive bib of an adult breeding SESA.



The lesson here is to be careful identifying potential White-rumped Sandpipers and Baird's Sandpipers this time of year as they could be variable Semipalmated Sandpipers.

I would ride back to the car in a small rain squall that would leave me partially soaked. At the car the Sun came out...

As I drove down Roberts Road I stuck my phone out of the car w/ Merlin recording/identifying bird sounds, and was able to pick up several American Redstarts, a pair of Wilson's Warblers, and a Black-throated Green Warbler singing at the corner of Rheaume Rd and Roberts Rd.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
May 29, 2025 8:28 AM - 10:33 AM
Protocol: Traveling
8.457 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Overcast, light rain, 55F.
69 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  7
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  2
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  2
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  6
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)  1     Cell 3. Drake. Pics
Redhead (Aythya americana)  2
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  2     Pair in Cell 3. Male and female
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)  1
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  4
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  2
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  1
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)  3
Sanderling (Calidris alba)  2
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  28
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  32
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  22
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  1
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  65     Cell 3 roosting. Exact scope count.
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  18     Roosting in Cell 3. Exact scope count. Adults and non-breeding.
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  3
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  2
Least Bittern (Botaurus exilis)  1
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)  2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  11
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  3
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  1
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)  6
Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  2
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  6
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  3
Purple Martin (Progne subis)  5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)  2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  5
Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  1
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  4
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  26
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  2
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)  3
Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia)  1
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  18
Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens)  1
Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)  2     Singing along Roberts Rd with BTGW, AMRE, MAWA. Two locations ½ mile apart. Verified w Merlin.
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)  1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  5

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S244174451

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