JAS Shorebird Trip II to Pt. Mouillee 

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Submitted by: Ross Green

Four Jackson Audubon members traveled to Point Mouillee State Game Area on the last Saturday of August to continue their quest to locate migrating shorebirds and wading birds.  They were joined by a group of four other birders visiting from Isabella, Genesee, Wayne and Macomb counties.  At least 69 bird species were reported as seen or heard from somebody in the group.  

With perfect weather conditions, we started the Mouillee visit on foot, parking at the Mouillee Creek lot and walking a mile or so in to access a reported shorebird “hotspot.”  A good number and variety of shorebirds were viewed there by all, along with a few ducks and several other bird species.

Later in the morning we drove into the Sigler Rd. entrance and made our way along the north causeway and then eventually to the loop around the Vermet Unit.  Our goal was to find the recently reported Tri-colored Heron.  While we didn’t have any luck with that bird, we did locate and get great close-up looks at a Red Knot, a medium sized shorebird that occasionally finds its way through Michigan during Fall migration.  There were also 7 Snowy Egrets seen in the same general area.  A second loop of Vermet later in the afternoon resulted in similar results.

A drive to the south side of the State Game Area near Roberts Rd. resulted in a very brief audio encounter with a singing male Blue Grosbeak.  A rare bird for Michigan, it had recently been reported seen in the area with a nesting female.

A big thank you to Don and Robyn Henise for organizing the trip, and to Mickey Kress for getting the Jackson group there and back safely.

A complete eBird checklist with many photos is available at: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38836875