Last of the Whimbrels? - 28 May 2026

I was up early so I grabbed the bike and headed to Pt. Mouillee SGA for a morning ride. Skies were clear, and although the temperature was only 60ºF conditions felt mild enough to leave the jacket home. I did put on bug juice and the mosquito jacket / gloves for the trip out to Cell 3.

Parking at Mouillee Creek a bit after 7 am I rode around to the north side of the Walpatich Unit. I was looking for a singing Willow Flycatcher but instead found this Song Sparrow singing its song atop a bush alongside the canal to my left.

Only a few Dunlin remained on the mudflats at the north end of the Walpatich Unit, but I did see the Black-necked Stilt, as well. As I was heading out alongside the east side of the unit toward the Lautenschlager Unit I spotted a Willow Flycatcher close enough to photograph.

It flew to a dead snag a bit higher up and away from vegetation where it stayed after I left.

A pair of Black-necked Stilts were flying overhead as I reached the North Causeway with the Nelson Unit on my left and the Bloody Run Unit on my right.

The North Causeway was quiet, as was the Vermet Unit. A pair of Redhead were the highlight of my ride past Cell 4. I continued on to the east side of Cell 3 where I rode south along the Lake Erie shoreline. Osprey were flying; I would spot 4 birds fishing and roosting on the rocks.

I rode south to the path separating Cells 1 and 2 and headed back north along the west side of the Banana Unit. Stopping at Cell 3 scanned the open water and found dozens of Dunlin, a dozen or so Semipalmated Sandpipers, the four continuing Black-necked Stilts, and the roosting flock of American White Pelicans, Caspian Terns, and a couple of Forster's Terns. No large shorebirds or dowitchers seen. I didn't stay long.

I continued north back to the Middle Causeway and rode it west to the Pumphouse where I turned south along the Bad Creek Unit. Small flocks of Dunlin could be seen on the mudflats along the west side of the Humphries Unit, and a bit farther south I came upon a roosting flock of 28 Hudsonian Whimbrel on the last visible mudflat.

I then returned to the car and drove over to Roberts Road to listen / look for passerines. The usual Northern Yellow Warblers, Eastern Warbling Vireos, Red-winged Blackbirds, and American Robins were calling loudly, while the occasional Gray Catbird broke the monotony. 

I stopped by the landfill to listen for a Grasshopper Sparrow but dipped. Merlin picked up Blue Grosbeak but I couldn't hear it. I did find two pair of bras and panties tossed on the other side of the fence and had to wonder what the backstory was there...

I then drove to the woodlot next to the old silo and walked the trails looking for warblers. Surprisingly, several Bay-breasted Warblers, American Redstart, Chestnut-sided Warblers and a Cape May Warbler were singing but I could only spot a random Red-eyed Vireo in the now-leafed-out canopy. Even the Northern Yellow Warblers were impossible to spot. I would settle for a loud Red-bellied Woodpecker in a small opening of the trees.

I'd then head for home to start prepping for a trip to Wisconsin this weekend.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 31), Monroe, Michigan, US

May 28, 2026 7:21 AM - 10:20 AM
Protocol: Traveling
12.046 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Sunny, 60F, calm.
63 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  64
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  60
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  34
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  2
Redhead (Aythya americana)  2
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  2
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)  1
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  1
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  1
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)  7     1 in Walpatich, 2 flyover in Nelson and 4 continuing Cell 3
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  4
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  1
Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus)  28     Bad Creek s of Pumphouse. Exact count.
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  2
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  180
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  14
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  10
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  4
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  2
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  1
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  3
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  64
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  5
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  2
Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)  6
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  8
Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)  1
Eastern Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  4
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  2
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  5
Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  1
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  4
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  2
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  1
Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  2
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  36
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  4
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  4
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)  1
Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina)  1
Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia)  1
Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea)  2
Northern Yellow Warbler (Setophaga aestiva)  8
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S348254217

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