Petersburg State Game Area - 17 Jun 2025

I got a call from Jack Volker yesterday informing me of a Hooded Warbler and Blue-winged Warbler at Petersburg State Game Area in Monroe Co. He and Janet heard / saw them from the parking lot off Lulu Rd. so I decided I'd make a run down there this morning.

Preparing for mosquitos I lathered up before getting out of the car and walked into the field east of the parking lot. The grass was thick (and wet) but the scenery was lovely. It was also very quiet; only a distant Eastern Towhee could be heard at 7:45 am despite mild-but-humid 70ºF temps.

I did spot a Common Yellowthroat overhead and got a few pics as it "chipped" at me from a safe perch, and as can be seen from the pics it was also foraging for nestlings.

As I continued walking I began to hear the sounds of Gray Catbird, Common Yellowthroat, Indigo Bunting and Eastern Wood-Pewee. But I couldn't hear the Hooded Warbler.  As I was walking back toward the car, however, I did hear a Blue-winged Warbler singing from across the road on the south side of Lulu Rd. Unfortunately, there was no way to cross the flooded ditch next to the road.

A Scarlet Tanager and Veery were calling from deep inside the woods to the north but mosquitos were blocking the way. So I returned to the parking lot to check out the field on the north side.

An Indigo Bunting was calling close by, so I walked into the field just as it flew from a nearby tree. As I followed it I stopped long enough to get a pic of a Fritillary (unsure of species from this angle).

At the edge of the woods the Indigo Bunting began singing again and I was able to locate it in a tree to my right. It perched and sang for several minutes as I snapped away with the 600 f/4 Sony lens.

I then walked the road back to the east to look for the Blue-winged Warbler(s) but they remained silent. I picked up Field Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers (Jack and Janet saw three from the Hidden Lake Campground just up ahead).

As I returned to the car I heard the distinct "Free-Bii" of an Alder Flycatcher. Walking the road to the west of the parking lot I spotted it perched nicely in the morning Sun and singing away!

The tiny flycatcher showed a rounded head that looks large for its body, but the very short wings are what caught my eye. They barely reach the top of the tail. Eye-ring is faint but perceptible (in photos).

I continued to walk west along Lulu Rd. but did not find anything to shoot at, so I turned the camera on a late-blooming Slender Flag Iris growing in the ditch.

As I returned to the car a Red-eyed Vireo popped into view nearby and began stripping a dead tree of some thin strands of bark (nesting material?).

I then drove back to the Teal Rd. parking lot to see if any activity was afoot. Besides a noisy Gray Catbird I caught the raspy calls of a Yellow-throated Vireo from the trees next to Teal Road but they stopped as soon as I walked back to the road.

Petersburg SGA, Monroe, Michigan, US
Jun 17, 2025 7:40 AM - 7:42 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.006 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Overcast, humid, 70F
38 species

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  4
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  1
Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)  2     Pair calling/chasing each other along Lulu Rd near the parking lot.
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  1
Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  1
Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons)  1
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  1
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  1
Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  6
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)  1
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)  1
Veery (Catharus fuscescens)  1
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)  6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)  3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  2
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  2
Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera)  2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  2
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  1
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)  1
Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)  2
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S251349210

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