Quiet on the Whimbrel Front - 25 May 2026

After my Common Loon rescue this afternoon here at Bridgewater I needed to regroup for a bike ride at Pt. Mouillee SGA this evening. I was planning to search for more Hudsonian Whimbrel flocks and check out shorebirding in Cell 3 with the Sun at my back.

Driving down Haggerman Road and the Antennae Farm at 5:30 pm yielded few birds. No Bobolink or Eastern Meadowlarks, and no sparrows. A pair of Horned Larks were the only birds of note.

I made a quick pass down Rheuame Road to listen for Blue Grosbeak but heard nothing of interest. A Grasshopper Sparrow was heard earlier this morning by the landfill but I did not hear it singing, either. So I continued over to the Mouillee Creek parking lot.

Once on the eBike I headed out along the Middle Causeway for the Banana Unit and looked/listened for feathered goodies. The usual Swamp Sparrows and Marsh Wrens were singing, but little else. I took note of the number of Canada Geese (w/ goslings), Mute Swans and American White Pelicans roosting/feeding in the Vermet and Humphries Units.

Cell 4 south held a pair of Redhead Ducks (male / female). I rode south along the west side of Cell 3 and stopped where the tiny path cut from the ditch to the open water could be seen. A large Painted Turtle was crossing the road, and without a clear path to water I stopped, picked it up, and gave it a ride in the trunk of the bike until I could release it into Cell 3.

Mosquitos were happy to see me this early evening. As I swatted them I scanned Cell 3 for Dunlin. Mostly Dunlin. But did find a few Semipalmated Sandpipers,

and four Black-necked Stilts.

Out in the middle of the pond I spotted a pair of Stilt Sandpipers and a single Short-billed Dowitcher that appeared to be of the subspecies griseus. I would then spot a single Willet through the vegetation followed by a pair of Northern Shovelers (among a half-dozen Green-winged Teal and several dozen Mallard) along the far shoreline.

An American Bittern could then be heard with its loud "Wunk-A-Chunk".

I returned the bike, swatted at more mosquitos, then continued back north. I decided at the last minute to ride south along the east side of Cell 3 to check the beach just in case anything might be roosting. I'm glad I did because I managed to flush 3 Hudsonian Whimbrel from the rocks and watch them fly north along the Lake Erie shoreline. 

Turning back around I rode around to the west side of Cell 4 and headed for the North Causeway. I stopped long enough to see a male Canvasback floating among a small raft of Lesser Scaup at the north end of Cell 4.

I would not see anything of consequence the rest of the ride. The North Causeway was quiet except for three Sandhill Cranes flying off to the south from somewhere in the Nelson Unit. The ride around the Walpatich was also quiet (no Stilt) except for a pair of Green Herons that flushed from the SW corner of the Walpatich just before I returned to the car.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 31), Monroe, Michigan, US
May 25, 2026 5:41 PM - 7:37 PM
Protocol: Traveling
9.659 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Clear, 70F, calm
55 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  60
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  80
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  4
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  36
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  8
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)  2
Redhead (Aythya americana)  2
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  23
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  2
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  1
American Coot (Fulica americana)  1
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  3
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  4
Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus)  3
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  1
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  2     Cell 3. Zebra stripes on chest, decurved droopy bill.
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  120
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  2
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  6
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  24
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  2
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  1
American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)  1
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  2
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  4
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  136     88 in Humphries NE, 24 in Vermet, rest in Cell 3
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  2
Eastern Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  2
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  11
Purple Martin (Progne subis)  18
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  12
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  1
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  18
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1
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/S346800288

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