A Quick Bike Ride - 10 Apr 2026

A check of the weather map this morning showed a heavy band of rain coming through the area starting at about 10 am. I decided to make a quick run to Pt. Mouillee at 7 am to see if anything interesting could be found; the plan would be to finish before 10 am.

I parked at Mouillee Creek just before 7:15 am under cloudy skies and 45ºF so lighting was too poor for any photography. I decided that I would just ride the trails and stop if anything unusual would show. The Walpatich Unit was quiet under high water levels, and Lautenschlager Unit was showing fewer ducks, so I didn't bother to scope the west shoreline.

I continued to the North Causeway and rode to the east side of the Vermet Unit (skipping Cell 5) and headed south toward Cell 3. A Common Loon was floating near shore in the norther portion of Cell 4 but otherwise only a few scaup and Bufflehead were present.

Lake Erie was not as rough as in past days but there were few ducks to be seen as I rode south to the junction of Cells 1 - 2. Continuing back north along the west side of the Banana I encountered only a few distant rafts of Lesser Scaup in the Humphries Unit.

Turning west onto the Middle Causeway I managed to flush the (continuing) Short-eared Owl but it was flying out over the west side of the Vermet Unit and too far away for any close pics.

So after only a few pics I turned my attention to a pair of Sandhill Cranes that were flying back past me along the south end of the Vermet Unit. They were trailing another three American White Pelicans slightly ahead of them.

American White Pelican numbers were down from a few days ago but a nice roost was seen in the Humphries Unit and another tight cluster was ahead near the Pump House.

I take a short ride into the Bad Creek Unit to look for a pair of Black-necked Stilts reported yesterday but only hear a Greater Yellowlegs on the empty mudflats.

I'd return to the car just as the first sprinkles of a 2-hour rain arrived.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 31), Monroe, Michigan, US
Apr 10, 2026 7:13 AM - 8:38 AM
Protocol: Traveling
10.988 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, 42F, breezy. NE winds 5-15mph, rain expected within the hour.
45 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  18
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  45
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  24
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  2
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  2
American Wigeon (Mareca americana)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  36
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)  2
Redhead (Aythya americana)  2
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)  6
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)  4
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  4
Greater/Lesser Scaup (Aythya marila/affinis)  240
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  20
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)  2
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  4
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)  6
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)  14
American Coot (Fulica americana)  240
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  10
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  4
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  1
Common Loon (Gavia immer)  1
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  12
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  34
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  4
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  65
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)  1
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  2
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  6
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)  6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  5
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  6
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  120
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  8
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S319540204

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