Muskegon Wastewater Facility & Pools of Calhoun County

We had great weather for our first spring tour of 2026.  Hopefully that will continue for the season.  (Spoiler alert:  it didn’t even last for this trip)  The drive to Muskegon from Albion was filled with flowering Redbuds and Serviceberries.

After checking in at the administration building, we took a quick walk on the trails surrounding the building.  We observed songbirds and other critters we knew we wouldn’t be seeing for a few hours on the dike.  Of note was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, and House Wren (first of year for some of the group)

On the dikes it was windy, but we had sun to help with the cold.  The pools were well stocked with a decent variety of waterfowl.  The high-count species were Northern Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Gadwall, and Ruddy Duck.  We also got a few Blue-winged Teal, Mallard, Redhead, and only TWO Ring-necked Duck.  A good number of Canada Goose we about, some continuing the questionable practice of building their nest on an aerator impeller.  

Highlights of the dike drive were spotting some Horned Grebe, Lesser Black-backed Gull, and just a lot of gulls on the road bisecting the main settlement ponds.  And just before coming down, we watched a Northern Harrier and a Red-tail Hawk harassing some Eastern Meadowlarks.

The lower pools were not very birdy or wet, but we did pick up some Horned Lark and Bonaparte's Gull.

We had a wonderful lunch at  Turks Tavern. This is really a great place!

After lunch, we took the long way back to Calhoun County just in time for the rain.  Dale & Doug’s earlier scouting did not look promising. Our only real stop was at the V-Drive North Fluddle.  There were lots of both species of Yellowlegs and a bonus Pectoral Sandpiper.

The two lists for the trip are below.

Muskegon Facility list:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S325172841

V-Drive North Fluddle list:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S325709333