Tough Day To Be A Gull - 18 Jun 2026

 

Skies were a mix of clear and high clouds but it was a breezy 65ºF as I headed out onto the Middle Causeway at Pt. Mouillee at 8:30 am. The gate was open so I assumed that the dikes were being mowed or the farmers were working the fields.

A stop along the Bad Creek Unit south of the Pump House yielded 5 Black-necked Stilts but this west end of the Humphries Unit is fast-filling w/ vegetation; the mud flats are gone.

Returning to the Middle Causeway I headed east to the Banana and Cell 3. Both the Vermet and Humphries Units were empty. No ducks, pelicans or swans.

I rode south to Cell 3 and waded through the brush to the edge of the pond. American White Pelicans were roosting in the middle; about 24 birds.

Caspian Terns were roosting along the east bank and were joined by a half-dozen Forster's Terns (juveniles/non-breeding adults) and a couple of Common Terns. A half-dozen Dunlin still remained along with several Semipalmated Sandpipers. I'd see one White-rumped Sandpiper.

Nearby I spotted an odd-looking gull foraging the east shoreline. It appeared large and had a darkish cap and ear-patch and large bill. This had me thinking non-breeding Laughing Gull or Franklin's Gull. The bird appeared too "lanky" to be a Bonaparte's Gull so I dismissed that notion right away. Legs appeared dark and bill appeared black, but it was backlit by the morning Sun so getting true colors was out of the question. 

I put a shout-out to Discord suggesting that I might have a Laughing Gull based on the length and thinness of bill. A few others would see the bird and (initially) agree with my assessment and post photos of their own. 

The presence of a carpal bar and lightness of legs had Andrew Simon suggesting that it might be a Bonaparte's Gull or a Black-headed Gull so I sat down and started pouring through my photos taken with the Sony 600/4 and 1.4 TC on the a1 II.

The all-black bill precludes juvenile Black-headed Gull that would have an orange bill with black tip. 

I wasn't sure but I had gotten flight shots of the bird and this helped cinch the ID. In flight I noticed that the bird was undergoing serious molt; primaries and secondaries were all-but gone or severely worn, which made it difficult to assess color. 

But, I could tell that the primaries and secondaries were tipped black, which eliminated juvenile or non-breeding adult Laughing Gull that has white secondaries and black feet. As I looked closer at images I could tell that the feet on this bird were lighter and pinker. That seemed to confirm the ID as Bonaparte's Gull. 

Andrew suspected that molting facial feathers may be responsible for the unusually long bill on the bird, which is on the thin side and more keeping with Bonaparte's Gull. Oh, well. Fun bird.

I returned to the bike and rode south to Cells 1-2 and east to the Lake Erie shoreline. Riding north I rode past an Indigo Bunting singing atop a phragmites stalk and it didn't flush when I stopped to photograph it.

It did find a second perch in slightly better light and I managed to get a photo of it taking flight!

Farther north I spotted a bleached gull w/ dark-tipped bill that was sitting all by itself next to the Lake Erie shoreline. I approached it on foot to get some photos hoping that it might be a white-winged gull (Iceland or Glaucous Gull). 

Alas, it had dark primaries and secondaries and is presumed to be a bleached Immature / 2nd-summer American Herring Gull. 

This bird was also undergoing some severe feather wear. I wondered how it could even fly.

Continuing on I stopped when I saw a couple of tiny birds swirling in circles next to shore. I immediately hoped that they were phalaropes, but as I approached and got close enough I realized that they were baby ducklings (Mallard). No parents to be seen, so I hope they are not orphans.

The ride along the North Causeway was highlighted by a huge Soft-shelled Turtle surrounded by 2-dozen Painted / Map Turtles on Turtle Island. Otherwise there was little to be seen during the ride back to the car via the Lautenschlager and Walpatich Units.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 31), Monroe, Michigan, US
Jun 17, 2026 8:30 AM - 10:49 AM
Protocol: Traveling
11.249 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Mostly cloudy, windy. Quiet overall in marsh. June doldrums. SW 10-15mph. 70F.
46 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  70
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  14
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  12
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  14
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  2
Redhead (Aythya americana)  16
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  2
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)  2
American Coot (Fulica americana)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  6
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  2
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  8     Cell 3. Continuing/lingering. Black belly patch and decurved bill.
White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)  1
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  8
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  1     Cell 3. Juvenile/non-breeding. Darkish cap, dark legs and thin, long bill initially suggested Laughing Gull or Franklin's Gull, however review of images showed dark-tipped secondaries (eliminates Laughing Gull that has white secondaries) and pink legs (consistent w/ Bonaparte's Gull). Eye arcs not well defined, disheveled wings. Unusually long bill may be result of molt of face feathers. Pics.
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  12
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  6
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)  2
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  8
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  6
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  24
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)  4
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  7
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  6
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  6
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  2
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  60
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  4
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1
Northern Yellow Warbler (Setophaga aestiva)  2
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S358724850

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