Twenty-three brave and hardy souls braved morning rains, fog, cold, and afternoon rain to participate in the 55th Monroe, MI Christmas Bird Count in conjunction with the 125th National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. Despite poor weather conditions we still managed a respectable 14,783 birds of 77 species. 78 if you include a count week Pileated Woodpecker!
Patricia Rydzewski, Moxie Sylvan, Tom Mulcrone and I started our day at 5 am with some owling action near Sterling State Park. Despite a heavy downpour we managed to call in a single Eastern Screech Owl that buzzed us a couple times and provided gorgeous looks under the headlamp.
We failed to find any owls inside the State Park so spent the next hour or so at Sal's Place having breakfast and drying off. We'd wait until 8 am when the sky brightened enough to see, and the rains began to subside.
Luna Pier was our first stop of the morning. Ice covered Lake Erie with open water better than a quarter mile out. We'd count a scattering of Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls but would have to photograph fly-by flocks of Common Mergansers in order to identify them. Scoping the open water produced 10+ Bald Eagles at ice-edge and scattered small rafts of unknown ducks (likely Lesser Scaup and Common Goldeneye). A pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were close enough to ID.
Patricia and Moxie would then head off to cover the bottom half of Area 4 of the Monroe Count Circle while Tom and I headed north to cover the upper half. Just as we were leaving the parking lot a Cooper's Hawk was seen chasing a European Starling but failed and continued in the opposite direction.
Otherwise the town of Luna Pier was relatively quiet with only a handful of starlings, House Sparrows and a surprising Golden-crowned Kinglet to count.
We worked our way north to Safe Harbor Marina and found the location quiet. We did manage a few dozen American Goldfinch, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a Northern Flicker and a nice Hairy Woodpecker in the woods along the entrance road.
Inside the marina we found the occasional Bald Eagle fly overhead, and enough ice in the canals to keep the waterfowl far away. Walking out to the berm next to Lake Erie we scoped the lake and managed to find a massive raft of Common Goldeneye (~600), Common Merganser (~400) and Lesser Scaup (~300). We would have to drive farther north to find a viewing location close enough to make a more accurate count.
Meanwhile Pat and Moxie would count 6 Red-tailed Hawks and our only American Kestrel for the area.
The four of us would meet for a quick lunch at McDonalds before heading to the DTE Monroe Power Plant for the afternoon count. There we would meet our host Eric Molnar (DTE Energy), his fiance Emily, Janet Smigielski, and Todd and Karen Palgut. We'd pile into the company van and Eric would tour us around the perimeter of the plant.
We failed to find any Black-crowned Night Herons this year. Construction on a new Security Booth is underway and is adjacent to the fence where the herons typically roost so it may have contributed to their absence.
At the Raisin River mouth we found a dozen Bald Eagles lining the trees along the shoreline and a nice raft of 100+ Hooded Mergansers. Overhead eagles were flying and providing a few pics despite the dark overcast skies.
Few ducks were on Lake Erie in front of the plant. We encountered a small raft of of Mallard, Common and Red-breasted Mergansers, Lesser Scaup and Common Goldeneye.
Gulls roosted atop the coal buildings. Among the several hundred Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls we found several dozen Great Black-backed Gulls and even a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
As we headed toward the warm water discharge canal we passed large holding ponds that were frozen. The morning rain put a nice sheen on the surface and provided a gorgeous backdrop for the Bald Eagles that were roosting on the water/ice. Behind them the dense steam rising from the discharge canal produced a surreal and picturesque view.
At the mouth of the warm water discharge canal we exited the van and walked the trail back toward the plant while surveying birds along the canal. This morning conditions were ripe for a heavy, dense fog over the canal so it was impossible to survey the far shore for Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets and Double-crested Cormorants known to roost there. But, we did manage to see the faint outline of a pair of American White Pelicans floating in the middle of the canal so they were a nice find. We'd find a second pair farther north along the canal.
A single tree on the opposite bank near the mouth of the canal held 9 Bald Eagles. Another 25 were scattered in the adjacent trees.
I was in search of a Great Egret as we have recorded them every year for the past 10 years. I had to walk almost a quarter mile before this guy appeared faintly on the opposite bank. The guy to the lower left is a Ring-billed Gull.
With rain steadily falling again we loaded the van and headed over to the fly-ash onsite where White-tailed Deer outnumbered birds on the berm (today). But, we headed to the backside of the discharge canal and the inlet to Bolles Harber where we found a pair of Great Egrets among several Double-crested Cormorants and Great Blue Herons. However, we would not find the 100's of GBHE or DCCO that we normally see this time of year. The fog was too heavy.
With gratitude to Eric and DTE for allowing us to survey the power plant Pat, Moxie, Tom and I headed over to Bolles Harbor to kill an hour before heading to dinner at the Michigan Bar and Grill. A half-hour spent at the rear of the parking lot next to the DTE onsite fence we failed to attract any owls. Four Dark-eyed Juncos were our first of the day, however, so we welcomed seeing them.
We then drove over to the Bolles Harbor boat launch where we spotted dozens of Canada Geese and Mallard. Knowing that this was part of Area 5 (Ann Smith, Dave Mendus, Karen Wade, Jackie Copeland) I was interested in any unusual species that we might add to their tally.
A singing Carolina Wren and a pair of Dunlin that appeared on the ice at the end of the pier would prove to be great additions to day's list.
I didn't bring the digiscoping equipment today so I had to settle for long-distant pics with the 200-600 mm lens. Luckily though, as the skies began to darken (even more) the Dunlin pair started working their way toward us so that we'd be able to get some great point-blank pics in last light.
Twelve of us would meet for dinner at the Michigan Bar and Grill where I'd collect data sheets and stories.
The Area 2 group of Allen Chartier, Alexa Blankenship, Erika Van Kirk and Spence Vanderhoof would report a flock of 50 American Pipits at the (former) J.R. Whiting Power Plant property. They'd refind the Hermit Thrush that Allen and I had 2 days ago, and a Ring-necked Pheasant that was alive during the morning but would not survive traffic by the end of the day...
Dennis and Kathy Rohmyer, along with Renee Stricker, would find most of the Blue Jays in the count circle (Area 3), as well as their own Ring-necked Pheasant and seven Wild Turkeys.
Ann, Dave, Karen and Jackie (Area 5) found their flock of 20 Wild Turkey at the corner of Laplaissance and E. Dunbar Roads, and would get credit for the Dunlin find. They also recorded most all of the Tundra Swans in the count circle. Photos courtesy of Karen Wade:
Todd and Karen Palgut, Justin Labadie and Bobby Irwin covered Area 6 and Sterling State Park. A pair of Surf Scoters, a Killdeer and 2 Saw-Whet Owls were reported. They also seemed to have the bulk of the American Robin flock in the count circle.
Shout-out to Larry Ludwig for covering Area 7 by himself while Bob Pettit recovers from recent medical issues. His highlight was a Red-shouldered Hawk that is always welcomed during the CBC season.
John Flora and Dan Schwab split Area 8 and got to contend with almost 1000 European Starling and the count circle population of House Finch. Another flock of Wild Turkey was a nice consolation.
Below are totals for each area and for the Monroe, MI CBC as a whole. Once again I'm grateful to everyone who participated, especially Dr. Linda Psalmonds who offered to provide a count near the Senior Citizen home in town. Your contributions help to maintain this count circle for its 55th season and the NAS's 125th season, the longest-running Citizen Science Project in US history.
Totals by Area:
I will add any photos submitted by participants as they arrive:
