Shorebird Season is a Wrap - 31 Aug 2025

 

My shorebird season is officially a wrap. Today was the last day that Pt. Mouillee SGA would be open to birders (tomorrow it is closed for hunting until Dec 15) so its time to put the shorebird bug to sleep.

I parked at Mouillee Creek this morning at 8 am, and unlike yesterday, there was only 1 car in the parking lot. I pulled the Rad Expand 5 e-Bike out for the last time, and headed out onto the Middle Causeway and north along the Walpatich Unit toward the Lautenschlager Unit to see if the Hudsonian Godwits (reported yesterday) were still around. They were not. A handful of Short-billed Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Wilson's Phalaropes, and a scattering of Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a Ruddy Turnstone were the only birds seen. I didn't stay long.

I headed back to the Middle Causeway and east toward Cell 3. The Whimbrel from yesterday was still present and quietly resting at the edge of the causeway between Vermet and Humphries Units.

I was able to approach it slowly while still on the bike, and the bird even took a snooze while I sat about 20' away. I inched closer (mostly to get by it) and it woke up and flew a short distance to the west before setting down on the causeway again.

When I got to Cell 3 I realized that I had left my scope in the car. Grrr. However, a Peregrine Falcon had just buzzed the mudflats in Cell 3 so the place was deserted. Only the Long-billed Dowitchers and Short-billed Dowitchers were huddled at the south end of the Cell. I didn't stay.

I continued south along the Lake Erie shoreline to the South Causeway and Roberts Road parking lot with the intention of looking for warblers along Roberts Road. The Bad Creek trail held a few Chestnut-sided Warblers and a family of frolicking Eastern Wood-Pewees.

I ran into Karen Kessler who had reported large number of warblers at the north end of Roberts Road, but things had slowed. Linda Ar was birding the road and reported that good numbers of warblers had been present but had slowed, so I didn't stay. While we chatted this Warbling Vireo appeared.

I'd head home and clean the e-Bike and get it ready for December when the SGA opens again. It has been a very good season here at Pt. Mouillee!

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 31, 2025 7:53 AM - 10:02 AM
Protocol: Traveling
7.854 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, calm, cool 50F
51 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  24
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  4
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  6
Sora (Porzana carolina)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  2
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  4
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  15
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)  25     Cell 3 continuing
Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)  2
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  2
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  8
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  1
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)  1
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  4
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  2
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  8
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  6
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  3
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  7
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)  5
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  4
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  150     Lautenschlager continuing
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  3
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  2
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  4
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  3
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)  3
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  4
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  7
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)  1
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  64
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)  1
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  2
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  1
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S270613008

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