Dunlin and Turnstones Galore! - 18 May 2013

Earlier this week American Avocets, White-faced Ibis, and Piping Plovers were reported at Pt. Mouillee SGA in SE Michigan.  This would be my first trip in over a month to the place, so I was anxious to see if any of the these birds would still be around. I parked at Mouillee Creek and headed out the Middle Causeway.  The morning chorus at 6 am included Warbling Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, American Robin, Swamp Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird and Northern Cardinal. 

As I rode the new dike built along the south side of the Lautenschlager Unit I spotted large flocks of shorebirds.  Dunlin!  Though the light was a bit low the birds were swirling and landing in flocks of hundreds just a few feet away.  I caught a few of the flocks in flight as they flew by, and spent some time digiscoping the birds from just 30' away.  I estimated at least 1000 birds in the Lautenschlager Unit alone.  Hundreds more would be scattered in the rest of the cells and Banana Unit of the SGA.

I took the Nelson/Bloody Run Unit dike north to the North Causeway, then headed toward the Vermet Unit.  I spotted a pair of Ruddy Turnstones along the shoreline and spent some time photographing and digiscoping them.

I headed back toward the Middle Causeway along the dike separating the Vermet (east) and Long Pond (west) Units.  More Dunlin, including Semipalmated Plover and Least Sandpiper.

From the Middle Causeway I headed to the Banana Unit and Cell 3 where I found Will Weber scoping the Humphries Unit.  Will had seen the Sandhill Cranes in the Lautenschlager Unit and an American White Pelican in the Vermet Unit.  We scope the Humphries Unit and found 8 - 9 Yellow-headed Blackbirds among the cattails along the far (west) shore of the unit.  Forster's Terns were actively feeding and were the dominant tern in the area, but we did hear a few Common Terns behind us in Cell 3.  Black Terns were a no-show today.  The egret colony in the middle of the Humphries Unit was quite active, but no Cattle Egrets were observed.

Behind us in Cell 3 the muddy shoreline was littered with Dunlin, a few Semipalmated Sandpipers and Plovers, Least Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones (3-4) and a Short-billed Dowitcher or two.  Will had spotted several Sanderlings in the small sandspit in the SW corner of Cell 3.  No Piping Plovers, avocets or ibises, though.

We rode back toward the Vermet Unit to look for the pelican, but could not find it.  A nice consolation prize was presented in the form of a Snowy Egret!  We looked for Whimbrels, but did not see any (Pat Jakel would report 4 of them in Cell 4 a bit later in the day, along w/ the American White Pelican).

A flock of six Black-bellied Plovers flew past us in the NE corner of the Vermet Unit, but I was too slow w/ the camera.  I managed one shot as they passed right over our heads.  I would be presented with two more opportunities to photograph fly-by flocks of these plovers, but one time my camera was stuck in my Cotton Carrier vest, and the next time the camera was inadvertently switched to LiveView Mode (?).  I would then spend the rest of the day (and all day Sunday) taking bracketed exposures (-1, 0 +1) without knowing it.

As we rode west along the North Causeway we came across another 8 Ruddy Turnstones along the Huron River shoreline, and I spent more time digisoping a beautiful male and several handsome females foraging the shoreline.  Note the buff-coloration on the head and throat area of the female, while the males was in stunning all-white head and chest.

We made another stop at the Lautenschlager Unit and found 12 Black-bellied Plovers along the far shoreline.  As we scoped the shoreline looking for shorebirds other than Dunlin, Will spotted a beautiful female Wilson's Phalarope feeding next the shoreline and a pair of Sandhill Cranes.  I could only manage a very long distant image of the phalarope and plovers through the scope. While I fiddled w/ the camera I took a few pics of flyby Black-crowned Night Heron (juvenile) and a family of Canada Geese.

With noon fast approaching we decided to head back to the cars.  I would make a quick swing down Haagerman Rd and pick up Horned Larks, Savannah Sparrows and several Bobolink.

Biggest Week Epilogue - 15 May 2013

Radar had shown a big movement of birds overnight, so I decided to make one last ride down to Magee Marsh before heading to work.  Yesterday a Kirtland's Warbler (a female) had been sighted along the East Beach, but I didn't really expect it to be around today - they tend to be one-day wonders during migration.  Still, with the trees leafing out a single day could be the difference between seeing a lot of birds and hearing a lot of birds.

I left the house shortly after 4 am and got to the parking lot at Magee Marsh shortly before 5:30 am.  Storms were supposed to be moving through the area this morning, so lightning a few short downpours greeted my arrival.  But the rains let up, so I grabbed the scope and camera and headed onto the boardwalk.  A Common Nighthawk was circling over the parking lot.  Warblers were starting to chatter overhead: Black-and-White, Black-throated Blue, and Black-throated Green.  A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was calling in the trees, but it was still too dark to see them. 

House Wrens were singing nearby, and I was able to get a few photos using the Better Beamer and SB-800 on the Nikon D7100.  Unfortunately, the camera is limited to 1/250s shutter speeds, and the flash only captured a few frames before firing blanks for several more.  So, I ended up losing more than half of my frames to severely-underexposed captures.

A pair of Carolina Wrens were also making a lot of noise, and foraging just feet away.  I managed a few more images before losing a few more images.

As skies brightened the warblers started to appear.  A flock of Myrtle Warblers were working the shoreline next to the pond.  Among them were a Magnolia Warbler and several Palm Warblers.  A Northern Waterthrush was singing nearby, and for a short moment I thought I was hearing a Connecticut Warbler.

I walked the big loop of the boardwalk and came across more House Wrens, and a flock of several Mourning Warblers, American Redstarts and several Lincoln's Sparrows.  A Blackpoll Warbler was singing, but the trees obscured it from being seen.  The Black-throated Blues were outnumbering the redstarts, but only a few.  They were everywhere! The females were particularly challenging, since they difficult to make out in the trees. Gray Catbirds, Warbling Vireos and Yellow Warblers were also numerous.

Swainson's Thrushes were flying across the boardwalk in twos and threes, and I managed a pic or two.  I even managed a Gray-cheeked Thrush, but only after reviewing images when I got home.

By the time I had circled around and headed back to the west end of the boardwalk I managed to add Canada Warbler, a somewhat cooperative Tennessee Warbler, and several Northern Parula's.  Someone had forgotten to tell folks that the Biggest Week in American Birding was over because I could barely get through the crowds at the west end.  The parking lot was almost full, and it was only 8 am.

I decided to head back to work rather than fight the crowds.

Frustrations would occur when I drove by the East Beach and notice a dozen cars.  I almost walked out there, but decided to drive on.  When I got to work I found the Tweet indicating that the female Kirtland's Warbler was refound about 10 minutes after I drove by.  Then a Mississippi Kite was observed soaring over the BSBO HQ a few minutes later.  Within the hour two more Kirtland's Warblers would be spotted (a juvenile male and adult male), so I was less than thrilled (for myself).

But that is how it works sometimes.  Shake it off, and look forward to next year...  Rats.

The World's Rarest Birds - Review - 14 May 2013

The World's Rarest Birds
Erik Hirschfeld, Andy Swash & Robert Still

Cloth | 2013 | $45.00 / £34.95 | ISBN: 9780691155968
360 pp. | 8 1/2 x 11 | 103 color illus. 977 color photos. 610 color maps.

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Page spreads to view


Hold an international photo contest challenging people to photograph the rarest birds on the planet, then select the most stunning photographs depicting 515 of the 590 species classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered, and you have a coffee-table sized book that is as beautiful to behold as the birds it pays homage to. The World's Rarest Birds is written by Erik Hirschfeld, Andy Swash and Robert Still.  Together the three authors have put together a rich volume that combines education and conservation, describing the dangers and challenges the world's rarest birds face across Europe, Africa, Middle East, Australasia and North America, including the world's Oceans.

BirdLife International tracks the current status for all known species of birds and classifies them according to their population status.  For example, turn to page 248 of the World's Rarest Birds, and you quickly learn that 1912 species are recognized in The Caribbean, and North and Central America. Of those 1912 species there 0 known Extinct in the Wild (EW), 22 Critically Endangered (CR), 43 Endangered (EN), 85 Vulnerable (VU) and 4 species that are Data Deficient (DD).  A further breakdown of each category is made for each region, and a table shows an even further breakdown by bird family.  The next 15 pages then provides species accounts for 60 of these birds, including their threatened status, a map of their known populations, and photographs depicting the birds.  Where no photographs could be found, the artist Tomasz Cofta had provided rich illustrations that best describe the bird should someone come across it the wild (such as the Eskimo Curlew), along with records of its last sighting.

The introductory chapters of this book are most fascinating.  They describe the World's Rarest Initiative, describes the locations were Important Bird Areas and Endemic Bird Areas are located, describes the Red List  Categories and how species are assigned, all the while plastering the pages with stunning photos of birds that most of will never see in a lifetime.

For anyone even remotely interested in bird conservation and preservation this is a must-have book.  I found it a joy to read, and as a bird photographer myself, was ever so impressed with the quality of the photographs and the painstaking details the authors put forth to bring to light the plight of our feathered friends.

Many thanks to Princeton University Press for a review copy of this book.

BWIAB - Day 10 - 11 May 2013

The day started cold with heavy clouds and the threat of rain.  But that didn't stop folks from filling the parking lot at Magee Marsh 3/4 by 7 am.  By 8 am the parking lot would be full, with the majority of birders milling around the west entrance to the boardwalk.

Warbling Vireo

I started at the east end for a quick loop of the marsh, and immediately heard the calls of Yellow Warbler, Warbling Vireo, Black-throated Green and Black-and-White Warblers.  Charles Owens was coming from the other direction (he had been here since 5 am...) and was willing to walk w/ me back toward the west end.

At the big loop a cooperative American Redstart foraged a few feet away, and I was able to get a photo or two before the gorgeous male bird flew back into the canopy.  The flash and Better Beamer produced a bit of a harsh light, but w/o them the birds would be dark and blurry.

I finally met the great Brian Zwiebel, one of Midwest's finest bird photographers, a few moments later.

Palm Warbler

Swainson's Thrush and Veery were pretty common birds this morning, as the Hermit Thrush has seemed to move on.  Overall the birds weren't as cooperative as reported yesterday, but there were plenty to watch through binoculars: Northern Parula, Cape May, Tennessee, Nashville, Black-throated Blue and Black-throated Green Warblers.  Myrtle Warblers were moving in small flocks of 4 - 6 birds at a time, as were Palm Warblers.  We also picked up Blackpoll and Canada Warbler at farther distances. A highlight of the morning was running into Debbie and Paul Miller, who I'd met last year on the trip to Oak Openings.  We stopped long enough for a group photo (or three - someone kept closing their eyes...).

We had nice looks at a pair of Carolina Wrens that were foraging on the ground and on at the base of the trees, but I was at poor angles most of the time.  No keepers.

At the west end the boardwalk was packed w/ too many birders, and we could barely get through.  We decided that next year the BSBO should sell t-shirts saying "We Survived the Boardwalk".  With display tents set up next to the boardwalk Charles showed me the "Warblers of Magee Marsh" poster he was selling, with proceeds going to the BSBO.  They make great Mother's Day gifts, folks!

It was great running into Mary Tremblay and chatting w/ her and her friends from Florida.

Overhead a Common Nighthawk was roosting in the tree over the parking lot.  Charles had watched it fly into roost early this morning.  I was going to walk back to the car for the scope so that I'd could digiscope it, but the morning was getting late.  Instead, I plodded along the parking lot looking for warblers.

I ran into a cooperative Nashville Warbler foraging overhead.  It even came down low enough to display a glimpse of its red cap!

A Tennessee Warbler was belting out its 'tsika-tsika-tsika-che-che-che-che' call nearby.  I finally spotted it and got a pic or two before it disappeared. Note the yellowish wash to the throat - it indicates a female bird.  Too bad the Cape May and Blackburnian Warbler that were also in the same tree move back into the woods out of reach of the camera.

I'm hoping to get down here one last time during the week before the trees leaf out and the birds move on.