Dunlin and a White-rumped Sandpiper? - 14 Nov 2025

 

Bobby Irwin reported a Baird's Sandpiper and a possible White-rumped Sandpiper at Pt. Mouillee yesterday morning. They were among a flock of Dunlin roosting on a rocky sandbar just south of the Roberts Road parking lot and the South Causeway at Pt. Mouillee.

I drove down to the foot of Roberts Road this morning under clear skies and 45ºF temps. A cut in the phragmites along the shoreline gave me access to the shoreline where I saw a rocky sandbar covered with Bonaparte's Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls. Also present were several visible shorebirds presumed to be Dunlin.

I scoped the rocks at full magnification (60X) and was able to confirm the presence of Dunlin, but was also hoping to see the Baird's Sandpiper or White-rumped Sandpiper. No luck. The shorebirds were on the far side of the rocks and hidden from view.

An incoming flock of Mute Swans flushed the gulls as they passed overhead, and the shorebird flock took flight in a tight formation (as Dunlin do).

From my vantage point all I could do was photograph the flock at a distance and hope that I might pick out some non-Dunlin shorebirds from my photos. Sure enough, at the tailing edge of the flock was a single, slightly smaller shorebird that is suspected to be the White-rumped Sandpiper. It's bill was smaller than the nearby Dunlin and showed less of a droop.

Scrolling through my photos I managed to get one image of the bird showing its all-white rump that appears to confirm my guess. I did not see the Baird's Sandpiper among the flock of 79 birds (78 Dunlin). Three other Dunlin flew off in a different direction.

The shorebird flock flew to the west and landed a ½-mile away along the Lake Erie shoreline near Estral Beach.

They were too far away to ID, but I did see a pair of Pluvialis plovers that were either Black-bellied or American Golden Plovers (again, too far to ID).

I walked back to the car just as a flock of Tundra Swans flew in from the NW. They flew out over Lake Erie to the southeast.

The shorebirds were a nice find for mid-November here in SE Michigan.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Nov 14, 2025 9:15 AM - 9:35 AM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Foot of Roberts Road next to parking lot. Clear, cool, 45F. Report of Dunlin, Baird's and White-rumped Sandpiper prompted the visit.
10 species (+1 other taxa)

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  8
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)  24
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  6
Black-bellied Plover/golden-plover sp. (Pluvialis sp.)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  3
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  82
White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)  1     First reported yesterday by Bobby Irwin I managed to catch it in flight among a flock of 79 Dunlin as it took off from a rocky sandbar in Lake Erie just south of the Roberts Road parking lot. Flight shots show a bird slightly smaller than the Dunlin with a shorter, less droopy bill. Provided photo shows all-white rump that is consistent with the White-rumped Sandpiper reported.
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  14
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  12
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  45
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)  24

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S284452197

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

I drove home via Haggerman Road and found a gray ghost Northern Harrier working the fields east of the Antennae Farm. As many as 70 Horned Larks were moving through the field to my left; I was unable to find any Lapland Longspurs among them.

Antenna Farm, Monroe, Michigan, US
Nov 14, 2025 10:15 AM - 10:25 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, cool, 45F.
2 species

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)  70

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S284452974

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