The waterbird count has been highly productive. Numerous days of South winds and warmer weather have allowed for a massive influx of new migrants.
This week, dabbling ducks stole the show. The most well represented species include Mallard (121), American Wigeon (67), and Northern Pintail (93). Small groups of Wood Duck (28) are observed almost daily. The count recorded the first Blue-winged Teal (6), Green-winged Teal (34), American Black Duck (5), Gadwall (4) and Northern Shoveler (5) for the spring. Local marshes, such as Pt LaBarbe and Trails End Bay, are hosting significant numbers of migrant dabblers.
Swans continue to push through the Straits, with all three species recorded again in small numbers . This included more Trumpeter (6), Tundra (4), and Mute Swans (4).
The bird of the week has to be a lone Ross’s Goose! It was migrating North over McGulpin Point with a group of Canada Geese on April 13th. These tiny geese breed in the Arctic and were once a rare visitor to the Great Lakes. Populations have recovered in the last few decades and sightings in Michigan have become more frequent.
Other notable waterbirds from this week include an adult Iceland Gull observed from Graham Pt on April 14th. On April 18th, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was found in a nearby agricultural field alongside hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls.
