Holy Smokes! - 16 Jul 2026

A juvenile Bald Eagle portrait shows a red Sun as the catch-light in its eye. Such were conditions this morning in SE Michigan under Hazardous Air Warnings from Canadian Wildfires burning in the forests above the Minnesota state line. Air Quality Index values were as high as 900+ for Duluth, MN, and 600+ for Detroit, MI. By comparison Los Angeles, CA measures typically ~100, as does New Delhi, India. As a major metropolitan city Detroit was considered to have the worst air quality in the world today...

A Marbled Godwit was reported yesterday by Geoff Malosh so I wanted to check Cell 3 to see if it might still be around. Arriving at Mouillee Creek parking lot at 7:30 am I was immediately hit with the acrid smell of burnt vegetation. The rising Sun was dull red even though it was high over the horizon. 

One would never try to photograph the Sun w/ a 600mm f/4 lens and a Sony a1 Mk II camera but the smoke was thick enough that it was safe to grab a few pics without burning the sensor. You can even see a sunspot in the lower left of the Sun!

I wore a mask as I rode east along the Middle Causeway. I stopped near the Pump House when I found a dozen Short-billed Dowitchers foraging on the far mudflats of the Humphries Unit. Otherwise, I kept riding until I reached the Banana and  Cell 4, and found a Lesser Scaup bathing near shore.

I rode down to Cell 3 and hiked through the path (I need to re-widen the overgrown vegetation next outing) until I reached the water's edge. Short-billed Dowitchers and Stilt Sandpipers were foraging near shore while a scattering of shorebirds worked the east shoreline. Numbers were down overall from the last outing but still a few dozen of each Short-billed Dowitcher, Stilt Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs were hanging around. No Marbled Godwit and no American Avocet seen.

Stilt Sandpipers.

A pair of adult and 4 young Black-necked Stilts were seen. This adult flew over to escort me out as I was leaving. 

Short-billed Dowitchers. Adult hendersonii subspecies (Limnodromus griseus henerdersonii) as evidenced by the spotting on flanks, orange-peach throat, chest and undersides, and minimal spotting on throat.

Semipalmated Sandpiper.

I returned to the bike and headed north to check mudflats along the east shoreline of the Vermet Unit. One Black-necked Stilt was seen, but otherwise just a few Killdeer. A juvenile Bald Eagle was sitting on a log near shore and actually stayed put while I slowly rode by and grabbed photos.

Unfortunately for me, the camera somehow switched from Auto-ISO (100-64,000) to ISO 100 so under this low-light condition I was shooting 1/20 sec at 600mm. Luckily, 30 fps allowed me to get a few sharp captures despite my buffoonery.

I'd continue on to the North Causeway, west toward the Nelson Unit, then back south to the Lautenschlager and Walpatich Units where I spotted a flock of 12 Short-billed Dowitchers foraging in the north end of the Walpatich Unit. As I dismounted from the bike a Marsh Wren popped up in front of me and provided some obscured photos just 15' away. ISO 100 would mean many lost photos...

I managed to find a gap in the phragmites that allowed some photos of the Short-billed Dowitchers. 

On the south side of the dike a Least Sandpiper was foraging close enough for a photo.

As was a Solitary Sandpiper,

and Lesser Yellowlegs.

With my head starting to feel the effects of the wildfire smoke I headed back to the car and home.

Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 31), Monroe, Michigan, US
Jul 16, 2026 7:20 AM - 9:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
6.79 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Canadian wildfire smoke has produced hazy skies, smoke smell, and a red Sun. 68F. Calm.
44 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  61
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  4
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  26
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  65
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)  4
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  8
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  2
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  18
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  65     12 in Walpatich, 12 along Middle Causeway, and rest in Cell 3
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  1
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)  1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  35
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  14     Cell 3 continuing
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  2
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  12
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  18
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  24
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  32
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  2
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  2
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  1
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  16
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  4
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  6
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)  2
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  2
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)  6
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  6
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  2
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  4
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  16
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  4
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  1
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  2
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  45
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S372727967

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