Another Hot and Humid Shorebird Outing - 12 Aug 2025
Skies were partly clear this morning. It was humid with little wind. I parked at Mouillee Creek and headed directly to Cell 3 on the Rad Expand 5 e-Bike. There was little to see riding east as the Sun broke through the clouds and made visibility tough. So I rode directly to Cell 3. At the north end of Cell 3 I found a Bald Eagle perched atop "Eagle Mound". It took off before I could get a photo, so I had to settle for flight shots as it flew into Cell 4.
I arrived at the SE corner of Cell 3 and found Amber Piotter's bike. As I headed into the smartweed I could see her a bit ahead but taking the south / shortened grasses route. I continued through the thick vegetation and beat her to the open mudflats. We set up scopes and scanned the water line for Avocets (nope), Hudsonian Godwit (nope), Willet (nope) and Baird's Sandpipers (nope). But there were plenty of shorebirds; Short-billed Dowitchers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers. A dozen or so Stilt Sandpipers were also present.
After Amber left I spotted a Dunlin in the field near the flock of Canada Geese, Caspian Terns, Ring-billed Gulls, and Herring Gulls.
As I was packing up to leave Cell 3 I spotted a flock of Black Terns flying in. Twenty-four birds in all.
I rode back along the Banana Unit north to Cell 5 and east around the cell along the Lake Erie shoreline. Vast acres of American Lotus were growing in the pond but little else was seen other than 4 American White Pelicans in Cell 4.
I rode the North Causeway west toward the dike separating Nelson and Long Pond Units, then south to the Lautenschlager Unit. There I ran into Rhonda and Marvin Berger and took in the shorebirds. The highlight, of course, were the adult and juvenile Black-necked Stilts roosting near shore.
It brought joy to see juvenile Black-necked Stilts surviving the breeding season and appearing to thrive this late in the summer.
Around them were foraging Short-billed Dowitchers,
Lesser Yellowlegs,
Pectoral Sandpipers,
and Stilt Sandpipers.
A pair of Black-bellied Plovers were seen along the far shoreline but disappeared after a few minutes. Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Least Sandpipers were scattered all over the mudflats and along the north shoreline where visibility was obscured by phragmites lining the shoreline.
I headed back to the car and was home by 10:30 am.
Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 12, 2025 7:43 AM - 10:05 AM
Protocol: Traveling
8.306 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Overcast, humid, 75F, calm
57 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 12
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 2
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) 4
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 8
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) 2
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 6
teal sp. (Anatidae sp. (teal sp.)) 4
Redhead (Aythya americana) 6
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 2
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 8
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata) 1
American Coot (Fulica americana) 2
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) 7 Continuing. 4 ad and 3 juv in Lautenschlager Unit.
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) 2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 5
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) 12
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) 45
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 2
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 26
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 1
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) 23
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) 1
White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) 1
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 13
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) 6
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) 28
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 16
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) 4
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 32
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) 27
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) 1
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) 2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 2
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) 2
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 1
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 4
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) 4
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) 1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) 4
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 1
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) 1
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) 2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 2
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 2
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 120
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) 2
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Aug 12, 2025 7:43 AM - 10:05 AM
Protocol: Traveling
8.306 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Overcast, humid, 75F, calm
57 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 12
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 2
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) 4
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 8
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) 2
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 6
teal sp. (Anatidae sp. (teal sp.)) 4
Redhead (Aythya americana) 6
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 2
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 8
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata) 1
American Coot (Fulica americana) 2
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) 7 Continuing. 4 ad and 3 juv in Lautenschlager Unit.
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) 2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 5
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) 12
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) 45
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 2
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 26
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 1
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) 23
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) 1
White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) 1
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 13
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) 6
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) 28
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 16
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) 4
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 32
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) 27
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) 1
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) 2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 2
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) 2
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 1
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 4
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) 4
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) 1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) 4
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 1
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) 1
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) 2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 2
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 2
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 120
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) 2
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
