Sparrows Salvage The Morning - 13 Nov 2025

This post could've been longer. I screwed up.

Last night I set up the camera to photograph possible aurora borealis that was predicted to show as far south as Texas. I took 10 sec. shots from 7 pm to 7 am and filled my 160Gb card in Slot 1 of the Sony a1, and another 70Gb of my Slot 2 card. I thought I had formatted both cards before leaving the house this morning. Apparently, I didn't.

Skies were clear this morning, temps were hovering at 29ºF, and a slight breeze was blowing from the SW. I decided to look for Ammodramus sparrows at Pt. Mouillee. The Roberts Road parking lot was empty so I had the SGA to myself as I walked the Bad Creek Unit dike to the sedge marsh just north and east.

I saw my first flocks of American Tree Sparrows as I walked the dike, and even got a few photos.

The marsh itself was quiet except for a few Swamp Sparrows that flushed from the sedges and flew to the cattails and phragmites along the shoreline. I did not find any Ammodramus sparrows (LeConte's or Nelson's Sparrow). So I photographed a distant Northern Harrier as it flew above the phragmites silhouetted against the rising Sun. 

Overhead a Tree Swallow was flying so I got a few pics of it. It was followed by several Rusty Blackbirds. A Dunlin was heard somewhere in the distance.

I headed back to the car and saw that it was only 9 am so I decided to drive over to the Humbug Marsh Unit of the DRIWR to see if the American Pipits were still around.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, US
Nov 13, 2025 8:07 AM - 9:01 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.543 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, cold, 33F, 5-10mph from SW
15 species

Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  1
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  10
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  2
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  1
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)  4
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  4
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  2
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)  8

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S284265919

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

At the Refuge a large flock of Bonaparte's Gulls were swimming and calling next to shore as I walked the short-loop trail. I spent a few minutes photographing them as they flew and dove backlit into the shallow waters 100' out from shore. 

At the south end of the boardwalk I scanned the mudflats of the exposed Monguagon Delta and found no American Pipits. However, a few Swamp Sparrows and Song Sparrows were responding to my "pishing" so I photographed them a few feet away as I stood on the boardwalk.  That's when I got the message that my Card 1 was full.

But, it was already full from last night's imaging, so I unknowingly put it in my pocket and swapped Slot 1 w/ the card from Slot 2. A quick review showed a few photos of the Swamp Sparrow I had just photographed, and last nights photos, so I formatted it before continuing on. That was a mistake; it turned out that all of the previous photos from the morning were on the card and I had just erased them.... Grrr.

Oh, well. Fewer images to process.

A Song Sparrow appeared nearby and posed for some backlit photos.

It then flew close enough to be illuminated nicely by the morning Sun.

Several Swamp Sparrows appeared, including this one that was illuminated horribly orange, so I converted it to B&W.

Nearby Swamp Sparrows were posing in better light.

I continued on to the north end of the loop where I found a Hermit Thrush moving through the trees before disappearing to the south. A few Rusty Blackbirds and a couple dozen White-throated Sparrows moved by in a flock but were not cooperative.

I returned to the car and headed home to format my cards REAL GOOD!

Detroit River IWR--Refuge Gateway (Humbug Marsh), Wayne, Michigan, US
Nov 13, 2025 9:20 AM - 10:04 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.688 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, cool, 41F, breezy west 5-10mph
22 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  70
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  70
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  8
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  12
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  5
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)  2
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)  2
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  5
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)  1
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  24
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  4
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  5
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)  2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S284275865

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