prairiemerlin
registered guy
I spent a pleasant morning at Pte Mouillee in southern Michigan. I saw the two previously reported Hudsonian Godwits there. (These huge, beautiful shorebirds dwarfed the large Short-billed Dowitchers!) There was a lot of shorebird habitat, and a lot of shorebirds. There were:
Hudsonian Godwits -2
Greater Yellowlegs - ~60
Lesser Yellowlegs - ~15
Short-billed Dowitchers - ~50
Stilt Sandpipers - ~10
Semipalmated Sandpipers - >150
Least Sandpipers - ~5
Spotted Sandpiper - 1
Killdeer - 1
Dunlin - ~5
While I was watching a flock of Greater Yellowlegs, I saw a different bird. It had a gleaming ivory breast, and sharp black head markings. A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE! It was swimming with jerky motions, and it would occasionally stop to pick at things at the surface of the water. I watched for quite a while, as it was the first Red-necked Phalarope I've ever seen, and probably the last for a long time.
Oh yeah - I ran into some other birders who were looking for the Red-necked Phalarope. They left after scanning through a few times, and about ten minutes after they left I found the Red-necked Phalarope!
Hudsonian Godwits -2
Greater Yellowlegs - ~60
Lesser Yellowlegs - ~15
Short-billed Dowitchers - ~50
Stilt Sandpipers - ~10
Semipalmated Sandpipers - >150
Least Sandpipers - ~5
Spotted Sandpiper - 1
Killdeer - 1
Dunlin - ~5
While I was watching a flock of Greater Yellowlegs, I saw a different bird. It had a gleaming ivory breast, and sharp black head markings. A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE! It was swimming with jerky motions, and it would occasionally stop to pick at things at the surface of the water. I watched for quite a while, as it was the first Red-necked Phalarope I've ever seen, and probably the last for a long time.
Oh yeah - I ran into some other birders who were looking for the Red-necked Phalarope. They left after scanning through a few times, and about ten minutes after they left I found the Red-necked Phalarope!