Erie Marsh Preserve is a Wrap! - 31 Aug 2026

 

Today is the last day to bird Pt. Mouillee SGA and Erie Marsh Preserve in Monroe Co., MI. Tomorrow is the beginning of hunting season and the two largest Important Bird Areas in SE Michigan will be closed to general usage. I decided I'd hit both one last time before they open again in mid-December.

I arrived at Erie Marsh Preserve shortly after 8 am. My plan was to walk out to Field E to look for a number of good shorebirds reported recently (Red Knot, Wilson's Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Baird's Sandpiper). Skies were overcast and it was a humid 78ºF so scoping to the east should not be too bad.

I parked and started walking the main dike past the cottages. A Green Heron flew low over the American Lotus carpet that has all-but filled Pond 1.

I headed to the dike separating Ponds 1 and 2 to see if any shorebirds were hanging around the now grass-filled mudflats. A half-dozen Short-billed Dowitchers (juveniles) were the only birds around. A pair of Lesser Yellowlegs would fly in shortly thereafter. With no shorebirds to photograph I turned the Sony a1 II and 600/4 lens on a Cabbage White butterfly foraging on the nearby Purple Loosestrife.

Pond 4 was filled with water so there was no mudflats to attract any shorebirds. However, I spotted the resident pair of Trumpeter Swans and an almost full-grown (gray) cygnet with them. This was a wonderful find since it was reported that the cygnet had died a few weeks ago (it was seen in the grass next to the Sulfur Pond and not moving).

A dozen Caspian Terns were roosting in the far end of Field B just west of the Sulfur Pond. Among them were another dozen Lesser Yellowlegs but nothing else of note. I'd continue past the Sulfur Pond and head out to Field E where a nice mix of shorebirds were foraging near the south end. 

Heading out to the exposed mudflats along the swath cut by the the Marsh Master (last week) I was able to set up the scope and survey dozens of Pectoral Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Stilt Sandpipers and Semipalmated Sandpipers. A single Wilson's Phalarope was among them. 

I returned to the dike and continued north toward the middle of Field E and ran into Ross Green. Together we scoped the field and found an additional 6 Wilson's Phalaropes, a Black-bellied Plover, Baird's Sandpiper, and more Stilt Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitchers, and Semipalmated Plovers. 

The small pond in front of us held several shorebirds including this Short-billed Dowitcher,

Greater Yellowlegs,

Lesser Yellowlegs, 

and a half-dozen Least Sandpipers. Farther out in the field I spotted a Baird's Sandpiper, but had a hard time locating it through the lens. My first attempt picked up a Wilson's Phalarope,

then a Semipalmated Sandpiper, 

then a Semipalmated Plover. 

Finally, I managed to get the lens to focus on the Baird's Sandpiper that was moving away at a fast pace.

We then scoped to the north end of the field and found 3 Snowy Egrets next to a single Great Egret. As we walked closer they all flew off and a 4th, then 5th Snowy Egret joined them in the middle of the field.

In the canal next to the near shore a group of 5 Red-necked Phalaropes were foraging close enough for photos. I was able to walk down the steps of the small boat dock and photograph them as they swam by.

My back was feeling well enough that I decided to continue on to the outer east dike and walk it back south to the parking lot. A Marsh Wren scolded me as I walked past it on the dike separating Fields E and D (which held 65 Great Egrets and dozens of Mallard) but would showed only briefly.

When I reached the east dike I spotted an Eastern Phoebe bobbing its tail in the tree nearby.

It would be the last bird I'd see the entire walk back to the car. The outer east dike and south dike was dead quiet. Not even swallows or blackbirds were present. Only a scattering of Cloud Sulfur Butterflies and a few of these Common Whitetail dragonflies. 

I would reach the car shortly before 11 am just to find out that 5 Red Knots were found in Field E (Ross and I looked but couldn't see any and hour and a half earlier...). Despite the lack of warblers this last outing of the season was a great one, and I look forward to getting back here in December.

Erie Marsh Preserve/Gun Club (no access Sep 1-Jan 1), Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 31, 2026 8:08 AM - 10:54 AM
Protocol: Traveling
4.561 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy, humid, light sprinkles, 78F
43 species (+2 other taxa)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  4
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  4
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)  3     2ad and full-grown cygnet in Pond 4.
swan sp. (Cygnus sp.)  1
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  120
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  24
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  2
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  2
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  1
Black-bellied Plover/golden-plover sp. (Pluvialis sp.)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  16
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  17
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  9
Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)  7     Field E continuing
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)  5     NW corner Field E. Phalaropes w black eye patches. All together as tight group swimming in canal near shore.
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)  1
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  45
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  3
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)  12     Field E continuing
Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii)  1
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  34
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  24
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  60
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  12
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)  12
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  8
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  2
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  5     NW corner Field E next to Great Egret. Black bill and yellow skin patch at base of bill.
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  1
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  120
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  10
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  5
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  7
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  4
Purple Martin (Progne subis)  12
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  12
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  200
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  300
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S388620460

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