Shorebirding at Pointe Mouillee in Late August

Buff breasted Sandpiper

Just a quick post for tonight. I birded Pointe Mouillee State Gaming Area on Saturday morning. Pointe Moo-yay[link][map] is a 4000 Acre wetland habitat along Lake Erie's Western Shore. It is a wetland nestled between the Huron River and the Fermi Nuclear Power plant... Just across the river from Holiday Beach in Amherstburg. I had about 50 species but some highlights were:

Buff breasted Sandpiper
Willet
Yellow headed Blackbird
Marbled Godwit
White rumped Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper

Many birders I had met had also seen: American Avocet, Whimbrel and Red Knot but I did not see these excellent species. In fairness, there is alot of ground to cover when you are at a 4000 acre wetland!

How to get there from Windsor

Willet

Marbled Godwit

Yellow Sweet Clover

The mudflat in Cell 3 could be measured in square miles... Its contaminated river bottom dredgings from the Rouge River and local shipping channels.

Stilt Sandpipers and Short billed Dowitchers

I've attempted to make an annual trip to this great site and look forward to visiting again next summer. Just a note that it is closed to the public on Sept 1 - Nov 15 for duck hunting.

Good Birding!

Birding Pointe Mouillee on Lake Erie's West Shore

The famous "Cell 3" at Pointe Mouillee. A great place to view shorebirds!

For the last three or so years, I've tried to do some shorebirding in late August at Pointe Mouillee (pronounced "puent moi-yee" - French for wet point) in Rockwood Michigan. I've had some awesome shorebirds here in the past... Marbled Godwits, Red Knots, Buff breasted Sandpipers and Phalaropes. Its about 30 minutes south of Detroit but right across the river from Amherstburg [Google Map, Gov Site, Gov Map].

This huge 4000 acre wetland has a man-made dyke that the US Army Engineers are using to store contaminated sediment from the Rouge River. I've learnt from experience that if you go, you need to bring a bike, water, granola, hats... Be prepared for a rigorous journey, because you are biking like 4 Miles (6.5KMs). I find that even with hat, water and snacks, I somehow get heat stroke when I go, but maybe I'm just out of shape!

Snowy Egrets at Pointe Mouillee

A recent trip gave looks at some pretty good birds. Some highlights were 5 Snowy Egrets, 1 American Avocet, 3 Wilsons Phalarope, 4 Red necked Phalaropes, 1 Black bellied Plover, 1 White rumped Sandpiper, 10 Stilt Sandpipers, 2-3 Probably LBDs (no LLBs) ... I think I saw over 50 species on this trip!

Wilsons & Red Necked Phalaropes at Pointe Mouillee

Stilt Sandpiper at Pointe Mouillee

Avocet, Wilsons Phalarope & White rumped Sandpiper at Pointe Mouillee

Grebes and Coots at Pointe Mouillee

A birder that I met out there asked me if I use E-bird, and I replied... "I want to"... Its just so daunting. I must have seen over 50 species though!

I will try to bird Pelee on Labour Day weekend, and then frequent the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory heavily during the fall. I also have 5-6 bird postings on the back burner. I'm just really busy right now with work and night school. Stay tuned!

Good birding!
Dwaynejava

Budding Birder

PS: I missed the Wheatley Brown Pelican, as I waited till Saturday morning to go see it (work). My son & I, along with Jeremy Bensette tried for it but found out it had gone back to Cleveland!

Curve-tailed Bush Katydid (Point Pelee)

Birding Pointe Mouillee and Oak Openings Metropark

Black crowned Night Heron with Fermi cooling towers in the background

Pointe Mouille is about 30 minutes south of Windsor if you were to cross the Ambassador Bridge. There are some incredible shorebirds that show up to this 700-acre manmade wetland. Its interesting to read about how this area was made and how duck hunters, birders and government use this area. According to the US Army Corps of Engineers:  "The primary purpose of the Pointe Mouillee Confined Disposal Facility is to contain 18 million cubic yards of contaminated dredged material that will be removed from the existing navigation channels in the Detroit and Rouge Rivers" (USACE).

I brought my mountain bike because the distances required to navigate this area are in the units of miles. Bring water, portable snacks and sun protection if you go. Also, print out a map. I was not feeling too good when I arived at this park, so I did not stay long. In my short time there, I did see Green and Black Crowned Night Herons, GB Herons, Great Egrets, A flyby Least Bittern (seen near the middle causeway and the long-pond and vermeet areas)... Not as good a look at one as I had last summer at St Clair NWA. Hooded Mergansers and Pied billed Grebes were seen. A recent blog posting had incredible birds here including: Little Blue Herons, American Avocets and White faced Ibis. I did not make it to Cell 3 (the shorebird cell) because the middle causeway was blocked with a gaggle of geese!

 

 

I really like Pointe Mouillee but I must say I hate crossing the border. I find the border guards to be unneccesarily rude... "Wutz a matter,,, don't they have birds in Canada no more?" is one of the nicer comments I've had in my three birding visits. Give me a break. I'm sure Americans on their way to Point Pelee are not treated in the same manner.

Oak Openings is an awesome metropark in Toledo (Swanton Ohio actually). Check out this website for more details. Its about 1 hour from Windsor, or 30 or so minutes past Point-Moo-Yee. This park is similar to Ojibway Park in Windsor but it boasts breeding species including Blue Grosbeaks, Lark Sparrows, Prarie Warblers and Yellow breasted Chats. See the ebird.org chart for this hotspot for more details.

Upon arriving to the park, I birded a few fields which are highlighted on the websites' literature as hotspots but really did not see too much. I would imagine its just way too late in the season to bother seeing some of the rarities. I will try to return in June next year. Some things seen in my short time at Oak Openings were Red headed Woodpeckers, Indigo Buntings, Chipping and Song Sparrows, American Copper, and Pipevine Swallowtails.

Cylindrical Blazingstar

An interesting thing about this park is that the visitor center is unstaffed. It has some interpretive displays and nice pamphlets but nobody in the room. Great park nonetheless and the visitor center is still really nice.

A little closer to home, things have also been quiet. Holiday Beach produced my first Hackberry Emperor as well as Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Common Moorehen and the common herons and egrets were around as well.

 

Anyone know what flower this Giant Swallowtail is feeding on?

Good birding,
Dwaynejava


Sources:
USACE, "Pointe Moullee - Beneficial Use", April 24, 2005, obtained: July 26, 2011,
http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/newsandevents/publications/publications/pointemoullee-beneficialuse/

Shorebirding at Pointe Mouillee MI

Marbled Godwits - Incredible Shorebirds!

After a great day at Holiday Beach yesterday, I went all out this morning with a long awaited road trip to Magee Marsh, with a stop at  Pointe Mouillee MI. I also attempted to stop at Open Oaks Metropark in Toledo, but did not really have time to do more than a quick drive through.

Back in July, I saw my first Pileated Woodpecker, and using my PPNP birding checklist book, I counted about 175 birds on my life list. An informal count recently brought me to 193... and I think this trip pushes me to the 199-200 mark! I am really excited about that!

Anyone going to Pointe Mouillee should print out a map and realize that its huge. The first time I went, I did not do this planning and found myself on a 5 mile walk (un-equipped with water and granola - not fun). This time, I brought my bike in my trunk, water, hat and some good cheer! It seems best parkinglot to use is the southernmost lot, just before Mouillee Creek bridge.

The first bird I noticed when I arrived was the giant Marbled Godwits. I was like wow! Lifer! Then, I walked down to the other end of the shorebird cell and noticed a birder. As I approached her, I noticed Buff breasted Sandpipers around! (Lifer!) They stayed at a comfortable 20 yards from me, but were very tolerant of humans... comparable to Killdeers.

Buff breasted Sandpiper

Then, I noticed the circular foraging strategy of a Winter plumaged Red necked Phalarope. (lifer!)

Red necked Phalarope

This Green winged Teal was walking around. This is a lifer as well for me! Its funny because I had ignored the duck with all the other great shorebirds around, but as I was photographed other birds, it would come into the frame of my camera view and shine bright green into my eyes almost like a mirror, beckoning my attention!

Green winged Teal - Shining green into my lens

I believe I photographed some Stilt & Pectoral Sandpipers as well this afternoon... really kicking up my life list total to 199!

Pointe Mouillee Birds~
Least Sandpiper
Marbled Godwit (lifer! 194)
Stilt Sandpiper (lifer! 195)
Red necked Phalarope (lifer! 196)
Baird's Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper (lifer! 197)
Lesser Yellowlegs
Green-winged Teal (lifer! 198)
Buff breasted Sandpiper (lifer! 199)
Sanderling
Baird's Sandpiper
? Long billed Dowitcher (lifer 200!)

Pied Billed Grebe
Assorted Terns, Gulls, Egrets and Herons
Blackbirds
American Goldfinch

Bobolink
Savannah Sparrow

Canada Goose


Anyway, I visited two other great sites after Pointe Mouillee, but I will leave them as a separate postings


Great birding!
Dwayne

PS: Is it possible that there is a Long-billed Dowitcher in this photo? If so, that could be my #200th bird!!!! I will be conservative and call it a Short-billed and leave the 200th bird celebration for another day!

Birding Pointe Mouillee in Rockwood Michigan

After about 1.5 years of birding, I have seen/photographed about 185 birds. I'm not bragging (or putting myself down)... the number of birds a birder sees depends on many variables, such as the geographic location the birder lives in, time spent out in nature, seasons, habitats, optics and keen-ness. I've had this psychological level I want to pass, which is 200 bird species mainly in the Essex County region. To get to this level though, I have to start counting some shorebirds.

One of the last areas of birding that is still a bit confusing to me is shorebirds! Up until recently, I did not have a field-guide, and I still don't have a scope or binoculars, and they come and go from the Windsor area in the span of about two months of the year. There are no really good birding spots/habitat for shorebirding (in Windsor) that I am aware of. (One surprisingly decent spot I've recently discovered is behind This School in Lasalle).

Mid to Late August is the time of year when Ont-birders get emails notifying them of all the shorebirds at various habitats that attract these shorebirds (flooded fields, Lagoons & Wetlands). Some of the birds listed include:

- Black Bellied Plover -
- Stilt Sandpiper
- Baird's Sandpiper (Lifer)
- Semi-Palmated Sandpiper (Lifer)
- Semi-Palmated Plover
- Lesser Yellowlegs
- Greater Yellowlegs
- Pectoral Sandpiper (lifer)
- Least Sandpiper
- Killdeer

 So, recently I came across a blog that suggested there were 20+ shorebird species, including American Avocet, Hudsonian and Spotted Godwits, Phalaropes and others! And it was only 35 minutes from Windsor!
This park is called Pointe Mouillee in Rockwood, Michigan (http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/publications/pdfs/wildlife/viewingguide/slp/107Mouillee/index.htm). I had to go and check it out. This park is located on the western shores of lake erie, about 30 minutes south of Detroit.

Birds seen generally include the birds listed above plus:

Wilsons Phalarope (Lifer-giving himself away with his circular foraging strategy!)
Willet
Pied Billed Grebe (abundant)
Black Crowned Night Herons
Yellow Headed Blackbird (Lifer-in flight, with white wing-patches flashing)
Belted Kingfisher
GB Heron
Great Egret
Red Knot (lifer)
Sora Rail (Flushed from dyke... only seen for a second)
Bobolink (lifer - but in non breeding plumage)

Thanks must go out to Dane from Ohio who I met out on the pathways and who shared his scoped views, knowledge and company with me. As usual, I am so impressed with the keen observation skills of the birders I meet.

Do you see the Wilson's Phalarope in this photo?

So, for the mostpart, I have about 8 new lifers today (pushing me to about 193 birds on my life list) , but really, I'm not overly excited because well... they're shorebirds and to make matters worse, they're in their vague, non-breeding plumage. I think shorebirding will grow on me if I get a scope and see them in April with their breeding plumage. To see a Godwit or an Avocet today probably would have blown my mind. The Bobolink was nice though!

Good Birding
Dwayne