With rain forecasted this evening and clouds through tomorrow morning I took the opportunity for a Sunday evening bike ride at Pt. Mouillee SGA. Winds were blowing 15-25 mph so it was disconcerting, but I decided that I needed the exercise.  At 5:30 pm the winds were blowing out of the SE so at least I'd have the winds at my back on the way back to the car. In the meantime I had to push through the wind as I rode east along the Middle Causeway. American Coot were scattering by the dozen along the Mouillee Creek, Walpatich and Lautenschlager Units. A pair of Greater Yellowlegs were callin ..read more

On the way home from the Refuge I stopped in Flat Rock to pick up peanuts from Masserant's. I decided to stop by the Meijer Pond at the corner of Vreeland and Telegraph to see if any ducks were still around. They were! Six Ring-necked Ducks and a Bufflehead were swimming in the pond next to the CVS, and a Horned Grebe was with them. I parked behind the bushes in the CVS alley with the plan to belly crawl to the top of the small berm to try to photograph them at ground level. It didn't work. When I got to the top of the berm the Ring-necked Ducks were at the far side of the pond and the Horned ..read more

Rain was forecasted this morning with clouds the rest of the day, but skies are clear, so I took a quick run down to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge to see if any Common Loons might be around. I got a late start this morning, but arrived shortly before 10 am. The drive to the fishing pier was quiet. The pier itself had a few fisherman, but most were in boats on the river. No loons on the river. As I drove out I spotted the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk from Saturday and was able to get some nice pics from inside the car. I didn't stay as another car was behind me. Neither of us see ..read more

This past week Bruce Arnold has reported the first Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpipers, Dunlin and Wilson's Snipe at Erie Marsh Preserve in s. Monroe County. I took the opportunity to run down there this morning at 8:30 am to look for said shorebirds. Skies were clear and calm but temps were 25F; surprisingly warm enough to not need gloves (for short periods). A number of ducks (2 dozen) were swimming in the open waters of the flooded field along Bay Creek Road but severely backlit by the morning Sun rise so I didn't bother try to ID. Dozens of European Starlings, Red-winged Blackbirds and ..read more

The morning started clear and calm. Though temps were barely at 30F the lack of wind made for a pleasant walk at Lake Erie Metropark. I was here to look for Common Loons that had been reported a day earlier; they are currently moving through the Great Lakes Region and I was hoping to see some near the fishing pier at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. So, why am I here? My trip to the refuge was cut short by a stopped train on Vreeland Rd. so I opted to head to Lake Erie Metropark first. Parking at the boat launch I scanned the channel in front of the hawk watch and south to Lak ..read more

Shout-out to Tom Gass for finding a Ross' Goose at Lake Erie Metropark just before noon today. His message on Discord indicated that the bird was near the tip of Cove Point at the south end of the park. Robin and I were out the door a few minutes later. We arrived at LEMP at about 12:30 pm and drove to the south end of the park. Canada Geese were foraging in the grass along the road but we couldn't see any small white geese among them. I drove to the end of the parking lot and turned around to make another circuit when I spotted Brian Beauchene a bit north of our position in one of the picnic ..read more

A winter storm is forecasted for tonight and the rest of the weekend so I was hoping to get out beforehand. Skies were clear and calm this morning, but temps were in the teens. I couldn't make up my mind where to go, so I stayed home and worked on blog archiving. Skies were supposed to cloud up this afternoon, but as of 5 pm they were still clear, so grabbed the bike and headed to Pt. Mouillee. I drove down Haggerman Rd on the way to Mouillee Creek and found a pair of American Kestrel along the fence line. One bird took off and kited for several minutes while I photographed it from the car.&n ..read more

With temps set to hit 60F today and with clear skies the urge to bird was high. However, winds were supposed to be gusty today, so I decided I better go early (8 am) to avoid the rough ride. A bright sunrise and Southwest winds would make most of the bike ride today challenging. I parked at Mouillee Creek and rode the Middle Causeway to the first junction of the Walpatich Unit. I then headed north around the Walpatich Unit to the east side then up around the Nelson Unit and Long Pond Unit to the North Causeway. Small groups of Ring-necked Ducks, Mallard, and Canada Geese scattered as I approa ..read more

Skies were overcast/dark this morning as I arrived at Siegler Road at 8 am. Temps were hovering around 45F and winds were mild so (despite the low light) I was ready for a bike ride. The bike would take me for a quick loop along the North Causeway, around Cell 5 of the Banana, past Cell 4 and the Vermet Unit, and back via the Middle Causeway.  Small rafts of Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, and Bufflehead swam in the Huron River as I rode the North Causeway toward the Banana Unit. The ducks were mostly backlit so photos weren't in the cards. I would managed a coupl ..read more

Mostly clear skies greeted this Monday morning as I arrived at the Mouillee Creek parking lot. Temps were already 45F at 8:00 am and would hit 55F by the time I left 2.5 hrs later. Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows, Carolina Wrens and Northern Cardinals were singing loudly as I prepared the bike and cameras for the ride along Mouillee Creek and the Middle Causeway.  The first Bufflehead were seen swimming in the Walpatich Unit just west of the Pumphouse. Ring-necked Ducks were also starting to show in this, their usual spring haunt, area of the SGA. Mouillee Creek itself was surpris ..read more