[Mich-chat] 4/30/11 - Tuscola co (Wilson's Phalarope), Huron co (Raptors)

[jbuecking at juno.com]

Birders,

Today Maureen and I, along with Myles Willard, birded Tuscola co. (Fish Point SGA & the Sebewaing sewage ponds), along with Port Crescent State Park (Huron co.)

The highlights included a female Wilson's Phalarope in a flooded section of the field on the south side of Kindler Rd, about half way between Clark & Forest Rds. There was one Gr Yellowlegs and 8 Lessers with it. There was a good variety of both dabblers and divers at the Sebewaing sewage ponds (9 species total), probably as many species of waterfowl as we saw within Fish Point. The ponds are located along Liken Rd (actually just within Huron co, just south of Sebewaing). At Fish Point itself we saw a group of 15 Tundra Swans and a dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk.

We arrived at the hawk-watch at Port Crescent State Park about 1:00PM and enjoyed the most hawks I've ever seen here before. Between 1:00 & 2:00 over 1,100 Broad-wings were counted by Monica Essenmacher and by the time we left at 4:15 our group saw 4 1st yr Golden Eagles (total for the day was 14, all juveniles!), 3 Peregrines (plus another as we were getting gas in Caseville), 2 Rough-legs, and about 12 Red-shouldered (both adults and first yr). Quite a fun day.

Jeff Buecking, Fenton

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