{"id":381,"date":"2021-07-21T00:58:08","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T00:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michiganrootsbirding.com\/?p=381"},"modified":"2021-07-21T01:27:34","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T01:27:34","slug":"willets-and-whimbrels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michiganrootsbirding.com\/2021\/07\/willets-and-whimbrels.html","title":{"rendered":"Willets and Whimbrels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’m just going to come out and say it. I am a sucker for shorebirds. The more time I spend with them, the more I enjoy them. When the forests and wetlands of Michigan are teeming with mosquitos and Deer Flies, the beaches that may offer a sandpiper or two are relatively free of bloodsucking beasts. Overall, I do not bird as often, or for as long, during the summer months, providing a much needed “break” from the intensity of Spring Migration, and if I am not chasing some vagrant bird or exploring a new part of the state while on a family vacation, I am most likely checking my local beaches for shorebirds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I come up empty on my routine beach checks more often than I’d like, but on the occasions that I find something, it is often a pretty “good” bird. Over the years, I have learned a few things that have helped me to increase my chances of finding shorebirds along the shores of Lake Michigan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1. Wake up early! All it takes is one dog to scare off a flock of shorebirds that may choose to rest on the beaches you plan to visit. Also, many beaches do not start charging for parking until mid-morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2 Check eBird and other resources for any reports of shorebirds. Even if you do not plan to visit the exact locations where a particular shorebird was observed, it can still give you an idea of what you could expect to find and what species are on the move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3. Be efficient and stick to a route\/schedule. If you are like me, you will want to check multiple spots before things begin to pick-up and want to spend as little time commuting as possible. of course, all bets are off if you find a target!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#4 Be thorough. I always walk up to the water and look down the coastline. A solitary shorebird is more than likely going to be near the water’s edge, and could easily be hidden by mounds of sand or washouts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This standard strategy paid off for Sunday, July 18th. I forced myself out of bed around 6 AM and was on the road just a few minutes later. I made a quick stop at South Haven’s North Beach, which has only on one or two other occasions offered up a good shorebird. Initial scans from the sidewalk showed nothing more than the standard flock of Ring-billed Gulls loitering near the volleyball nets. I spent a few moments scanning through the gulls, hopeful for hatch year Lesser Black-backed Gulls, before moving to the water’s edge. As I approached, I spotted the head of a Willet peaking out above a shallow washout. A Willet is always an excellent find in Van Buren County. This was only my 3rd sighting of the species in the county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I carefully navigated the flock of gulls, moving slowly so they would not flush, but rather walk out of my way. I gave the Willet a wide berth, until I had the sun at my back. I positioned myself about 50 feet away and crouched. I studied the Willet to get a sense of it’s demeanor. I could tell it was watching me, but not yet concerned about my distance. The Willet prodded the sand with it’s bill a few times looking for a tasty morsels and straightened out a couple misaligned wing feathers, probably knocked out of place by a long flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I crept in a little closer, to about 40 feet. The Willet changed positions, putting it’s back to me. This was my cue to stop approaching. I watched it quietly for a few minutes at this distance, actually laying prone in the sand. The Willet seemed to relax and resumed it’s activities. As I continued to lay there, the Willet got comfortable enough to move in closer, to about 30 feet. This was a satisfactory distance for me to begin seriously photographing the bird with my Canon Powershot SX60 HS. Sadly, I filled up my SD Card after about 100 shots, but most of the photos I took were “keepers.” A few photos show a portion of the Willet’s underwing, which proves there is more than meets the eye with this species!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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