Pointe Mouillee SGA Shorebird Trip 09/29/2026
by Don Henise
Jackson Audubon Society’s annual field trip to Pointe Mouillee State Game Area took place on Saturday, August 29th. Ten birders from JAS traveled to this amazing refuge in Monroe County for a day of birding. On the western shores of Lake Erie, Pointe Mouillee State Game Area is one of the premiere locations for migrating shorebirds in Michigan. Consisting of 4,040 acres it offers various habitats for water and marsh birds.
(Ross Green)
Our first stop in the state game area was at the south end of the Nelson Unit, where we searched over a recently plowed field for our first target species – a Buff-breasted Sandpiper. There had been a single bird out in the field over the previous few days keeping company with several Killdeer. Another group of birders had just seen the Buff-breasted, but as we arrived it had flown to a different section of the field. We searched for a while before Ross found the bird way out in the field. It was distant, but we were all able to get decent views in the spotting scopes.
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Black-necked Stilt (Mike Bowen)
We next visited a couple of sections of the Walpatich Unit and got our first views of several shorebird species: Least, Semipalmated, Pectoral, Stilt and Solitary Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Short-billed Dowitchers, and both Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs. We also saw Sora, Common Gallinule and an immature Black-crowned Night-Heron in that unit.
We drove from there to the middle causeway and headed toward the outer cells referred to as the Banana. Along the way we spotted a Merlin working some dead snags in the Humphries Unit near a Great Egret roost. It was stalking some shorebirds below the snags, but there were no new species for the trip. We did see more gallinules and some American Coots and Pied-billed Grebes in the Humphries Unit as we drove the causeway.
As we approached the Banana, the lead car spotted a Hudsonian Whimbrel on the road. It took off and flew past us, calling as it went by. It then landed on the road behind us where we were able to view it in spotting scopes.
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Hudsonian Whimbrel (Mike Bowen)
The Banana consists of a series of 5 manmade diked cells on the eastern edge of the SGA bordering Lake Erie. The name comes from the fact that this string of cells is somewhat shaped like a banana. The cells were created for dumping the sludge dredged from the Detroit River to keep the shipping channel open. As the different cells have filled up over the years, they have provided some excellent shorebird habitat. For quite some time now, Cell 3 in the middle of the Banana has provided the best habitat in the refuge.
Before we visited Cell 3, we drove north on the Banana to the dike that separates Cells 4 & 5 where a large, opened dirt area has been holding Killdeer and other birds like American Golden-Plovers. We did not find the Golden-Plovers, but a Ruddy Turnstone was spotted and seen briefly before it took off and flew south. We would later see another turnstone or the same one in Cell 3. As we were scanning the dirt spot, the first American White Pelicans of the day flew in from Lake Erie and went right overhead.
As expected, hundreds of shorebirds were out on the mud flats of Cell 3. We observed 17 species just in this cell. As our group made its way out to the viewing area of the Cell 3 mud flats, a couple of American Golden-Plovers took off and flew out of the area before most of us arrived. The most numerous species here was Semipalmated Sandpipers. There were several Long-billed Dowitchers bunched on the far side of the water and more Short-billeds scattered around. Four Wilson’s Phalaropes were spinning and feeding in the water. Other new species spotted here were 3 Black-necked Stilts, 2 Dunlin, and a single White-rumped Sandpiper. Also, the previously mentioned Ruddy Turnstone provided good views.
After spending time scanning the mud flats in Cell 3, we headed to the south end of the Banana where a Red Knot and Black-bellied Plovers had been reported earlier in the day. Unfortunately, they were no longer there, but we did see 4 more Black-necked Stilts and a few Bonaparte’s Gulls. We took time for a quick lunch near the south causeway and headed back for a second look at Cell 3.
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Western Sandpiper (Mike Bowen)
Our return to Cell 3 was déjà vu as this time 4 American Golden-Plovers flew off as we were arriving, again with most of our group missing them. Adam Byrne and Geoff Malosh were there scanning Cell 3 when we arrived. They picked out a Western Sandpiper in the mix of Semipalmated Sandpipers. A while later a Merlin blasted through the cell, scattering the shorebirds into the air. This provided us with better perspective of how many birds were there as the swarm of shorebirds swirled back and forth attempting to keep out of reach of the Merlin. Across the water, a large beaver was spotted swimming near the edge. It eventually swam across the water and crawled out onto the mud a short distance away, showing us how big it really was.
(Ross Green)
Overall, it was a great day with the birds and weather cooperating. Our group observed a total of 21 shorebird species along with other waterbirds and denizens of the marshes. A special thanks to Chris Shaughnessy for tabulating our species list in eBird and to Ross Green for leading us around Pte. Mou throughout the day. The complete eBird checklist can be found here:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S388050452
For many more great pictures by Mike Bowen, see the eBird list, above.
