Chasing Hudsonian Whimbrels - 22 May 2026

 

Rain and cold were forecasted for tonight so I grabbed the eBattery and headed to Point Mouillee SGA to look for Hudsonian Whimbrels. Historically, May 22-29 is the window for seeing the mass migration of these shorebirds and they are notorious for being one-day wonders here in SE Michigan.

I arrived at the Mouillee Creek parking lot shortly after 8 am and could already feel the NE winds blowing (15-20 mph). With temperature at 50ºF I bundled up and headed out to the north end of the Walpatich Unit.

As I scanned the north edge of the mudflats for shorebirds a family of Hooded Mergansers were scampering away from me in the narrow channel on the south side of the dike. Mom was not happy. Sorry, Mom...

It took a minute but I managed to spot the Black-necked Stilt that continues to be frequenting this area.

Dunlin continue to be the prominent shorebird here with a few Semipalmated Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plovers among them.

I then made my way north to the North Causeway and headed east along the Huron River to the Banana Unit. White-caps were chopping up the river to my left, and the only waterfowl seen was this single Redhead drake that scampered out from the shoreline. It was backlit enough that I needed a few minutes to determine its ID. Thanks to the Shadows tool in Photoshop!

As I rode around Cell 5 of the Banana Unit a pair of Forster's Terns were working the shoreline to my left. The buffeting winds slowed them enough for me to track them as they flew past.

I made my way to the north end of Cell 4 and found another pair of Redhead ducks swimming among a half-dozen Lesser Scaup. When I reached the west side of the Cell, however, construction barricades forced me to turn around and ride all the way back to the east side of the Vermet Unit. With the Banana acting as a buffer the waters in the Vermet Unit were calm; American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants were roosting on muddy island and a few pair of Mallard flew off from the shoreline. Apologies to the many families of Canada Geese that were panicking on the dikes w/o escape routes as I rode by.

I rode south along the west side of the Banana Unit to Cell 3 and headed south along the east shoreline. Lake Erie was angry this morning with white-caps and waves pounding the rocks and stretch of sand beach opposite Cell 3. This Sanderling was the only brave soul (3 more would flush from the rocks further south).

Despite the high winds I was enjoying the ride, so I continued south all the way to the south end of Cell 1 and rode around past the South Causeway and back north along the east side of the Humphries Unit where I found no waterfowl.

Returning to the west side of Cell 3 I saw open water and hundreds of tiny shorebirds among the roosting American White Pelicans so I left the bike, hopped the ditch, and carried the scope to gaps in the trees where I could scan for shorebirds.

Dozens of Dunlin were foraging close to the shoreline and many dozens more could be seen as backlit silhouettes across the entirety of the pond in Cell 3. Nearby I spotted a half-dozen dowitchers and headed off to photograph them. 

Presuming them to be all Short-billed Dowitchers I found the first one to be a good candidate for a Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus); heavy barring on the flanks, spotting on the throat, and buffy/white fringes on back feathers that do not extend along the sides (as in SBDO). Tail feathers also appear to show black bands thicker than the white bands.

Edit: When I uploaded these images to eBird Merlin suggested that they were Short-billed Dowitchers. FWIW... If Merlin is correct then it is another one of the SBDO's described below:

Nearby dowitchers appeared similar, with spotted necks / chest that is bare on L. griseus hendersonii Short-billed Dowitchers that we normally see here in the Great Lake Region. This individual below shows distinct spotting on the neck / chest, back feathers that show buff/orange along the sides, and a paler tail that is suggestive of the Atlantic coast population of Short-billed Dowitcher (L. g. griseus). Note that L.g. griseus SBDO also show barring on flanks so its possible that "all" of these dowitchers (including the first one above) are Short-billed Dowitcher.

L. g. griseus also shows white underbelly feathers whereas L.g. hendersonii show uniform coloration on neck, chest and underbelly. 

Giullermo Rodriguez Lazaro at Subalpine Birding has a nice article describing underwing patterns in dowitchers that I like to use to help ID SBDO and LBDO. A summary image below:

I was lucky enough to capture some flight shots of the dowitchers as they flew off to deeper waters and was able to get images of the inner wing patterns and axillary feather patterns. 

Lesser coverts show barring and axillary feathers show equal black and white banding that is consistent with Short-billed Dowitcher. 

Banding pattern in tails is also an indicator of dowitcher identification. Black bands > white bands = LBDO while B = W = SBDO. However, looking at these tails in flight one could argue for either species. 

I'm curious why this one has a squared tail,

while this one has the typical fan-shaped tail.

Given the evidence I believe these all to be L. g. griseus Short-billed Dowitchers.

But, I reserve the right to be corrected. So if anyone has a more proper explanation and ID of these birds I would appreciate the chance to learn something new.

This is a Dunlin in flight. I know that much...

As I was packing up to leave Cell 3 another half-dozen American White Pelicans flew in to roost in the shallow waters.

Riding north toward the Middle Causeway I spotted a flock (65) of Hudsonian Whimbrel fighting the winds and flying north across the Vermet Unit toward the North Causeway. 

As soon as they hit the North Causeway I suspect that the wall of wind coming off Lake Erie encouraged them to turn around and fly back south toward me. They would pass overhead and disappear somewhere to the south (perhaps Cell 3 or 2 or 1)?

Heading back west along the Middle Causeway I wanted to check out the Bad Creek Unit to see if the Glossy Ibis flock (11 birds) were still hanging around in the Humphries Unit. But, as I rode south along the Bad Creek dike the loud "Free-BEE" of an Alder Flycatcher got my attention. 

I'd continue riding south but would not find any Plegadis sp. ibis. But, I did hear a lot of commotion coming from the open waters and see a flock of Canada Geese (with young) honking like crazy. I then spotted this emaciated Coyote running along the far shoreline carrying two young goslings in its mouth.

Such is the cruel fate in Nature, I suppose. I would then hear the "Kee-a-wiii" call of Black-bellied Plovers flying overhead. So a quick photo or two later I would head back to the car.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 31), Monroe, Michigan, US
May 22, 2026 8:11 AM - 10:57 AM
Protocol: Traveling
12.782 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, windy, NE 15-25 mph.
55 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  60     Many families of 6-8 goslings. Less one due to coyote predation.
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  4
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  8
Redhead (Aythya americana)  4
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  6     Cell 4 with 2 Redhead. Purple head w peaked top.
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)  8     Mother w 6 ducklings in Walpatich. Male in Bad Creek
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  1
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  2
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)  1     Continues north end of Walpatich Unit. Pics.
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  4
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  4
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  2
Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus)  65     Flock flying around Vermet/Humphries Units. Exact count using count tool in photograph of flock in flight (one image).
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  60     Cell 3. Estimated count based on 5's of backlit dowitchers. Six birds seen close to shore appear to be L. griseus griseus subspecies based on spotting of throat and chest, white underbelly, back feather pattern showing buffy/orange edges to sides of feathers, and axillary banding showing 50/50 black and white stripes. Pics.
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  3
Sanderling (Calidris alba)  4
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  300
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  6
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  7
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  16
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  6
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  16
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  1
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  84     Humphries and Cell 3.
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  4
Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum)  1     Bad Creek Unit. Calling “Free-BEE"
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)  2
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  6
Eastern Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  6
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  2
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)  2
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  1
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  1
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  45
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  4
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  2
Northern Yellow Warbler (Setophaga aestiva)  6
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S343934343

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