Rainy Day Butts-of-Butter - 22 Oct 2025

After a day of rain and high winds this morning brought more rain, wind and 45ºF temperatures as I arrived at Elizabeth Park shortly after 8:30 am. Skies were deeply overcast so I knew that photography would be next to impossible as I walked the trails.

For the most part I wouldn't need the camera. Not a creature was stirring. I did hear a few White-throated Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, a distant Cooper's Hawk, a pair of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and an American Robin, but saw none. A pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers were foraging high in a dead tree, but were just dark little tiny birds with streaking on the flanks being the only identifiable markers.

It was not until I left the woods and reached the car that a pair of screaming Red-tailed Hawks were seen circling low over the road. They appeared as silhouettes against the dark sky so it took quite a bit of exposure compensation to bring them out in post-processing. This one is showing tail molt.

 

Elizabeth Park (Trenton), Wayne, Michigan, US
Oct 22, 2025 8:30 AM - 9:08 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.679 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, dark, windy, rainy, 45F.
9 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  60
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  12
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)  1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S280778650

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

With light rain falling I was ready to head home at 9:30 am and pick up groceries, but they weren't ready, yet. So I decided to stop by the Humbug Marsh Unit of the DRIWR and walk the trails for another hour to kill some time.

I never made it past the entrance to the short loop trail as the creek under the bridge and the Detroit River shoreline was HOPPING! A dozen Yellow-rumped Warblers were foraging in the dogwoods lining both sides of the creek. Among them were another dozen White-throated Sparrows bouncing from tree to tree. 

Not knowing which ones to go after I settled on the only bird not moving. An Eastern Phoebe 30' away.

I moved east along the trail next to the creek and spent a half-hour trying to photograph the moving flocks of White-throated Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

In the bush directly in front of me a Ruby-crowned Kinglet appeared. I had to lower the zoom to 100mm to focus on it.

To my right a few feet away a pair of birds were tussling in the low light. They turned out to be a Dark-eyed Junco and Downy Woodpecker!

No sooner had they left that a flock of Rusty Blackbirds flew in and foraged among the dogwood bushes in the creek and the Detroit River shoreline next to me. I couldn't resist taking a break from chasing the smaller birds to get some pics of my favorite blackbird.

At the base of the trees along the shoreline another several Yellow-rumped Warblers appeared briefly.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker flew into the tree next to me and started foraging until it realized I was directly below it and high-tailed it out of there.

As it flew away a Hermit Thrush appeared in a nearby tree and provided a few pics before it continued on.

Returning to the trail I ran into more "Butterbutts".

And more White-throated Sparrows.

Another Red-bellied Woodpecker appeared. This one actually showed its "red belly" but needed to be upside down to show it. Pushing off!

Despite the clouds, wind and rain a nice flock of 120 Turkey Vultures drifted low over the refuge as they crossed from Humbug Island to the west. 

As I returned to the car along the north trail a few more Rusty Blackbirds appeared along the creek bed. This one appears to be molting into adult male black plumage (?).

The morning would belong to the Butter-Butts, though, as another flock appeared near the bridge as I was walking out. 

Despite the poor weather this was one of the most productive mornings I've had in ages!

Detroit River IWR--Refuge Gateway (Humbug Marsh), Wayne, Michigan, US
Oct 22, 2025 9:09 AM - 10:09 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.45 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, rainy, windy, 46F. Storms have knocked down trees across trails.
27 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  12
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  18
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  1
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  12
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  16
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  24
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  9
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  120
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)  2
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)  4
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  16
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  24
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  3
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)  18
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  24
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S280794333

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