Covid Big Day Report

May 16, 2020

Because of the need for social distancing during the Covid-19 epidemic, we did not bird our usual itinerary together.  What various people did is described below followed by a list of all the bird species recorded.  "Notable" birds mentioned are simply "notable", but include all warbler species except Yellow and yellowthroat, all shorebirds except Killdeer, and all raptors (except vulture).

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Ric Pedler began at 5:00 a.m. on Black Lake Road between Black Lake and Hoffmaster State Park hoping to hear some night birds. The frog chorus prevented that.  So at 5:15 he drove over to Black Lake Park and birded there until 7:00.  He found 27 species, American Woodcocks being notable.

Back home for breakfast he added three species in his yard.  Then he and Carol drove to Snug Harbor. Notable in two hours there were Veery, Red-headed Woodpecker, Nashville and Pine Warblers, and Red-shouldered Hawk.  They birded the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve for only half an hour because high water prevented walking very far south in tennis shoes.  Notable was a Black-and-White Warbler.

After lunch at home, Ric birded alone.  From SGA headquarters along the Maple River to the snipe field, notable sightings included Indigo Buntings, American Redstarts, Dave and Bonnie, and a non-singing Blue-winged Warbler.  

From 3:00-4:45 he birded the Wastewater properties.  On the south side he saw two Common Ravens near the Laketon-Swanson intersection and on the far side of the Clay Pond one of the Little Blue Herons reported Friday by David Holmberg.

Patterson Park from 5:00-5:30 produced only one new species, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Pere Marquette Park was unreachable from Lakeshore Drive, so he didn't try for the martins at the Channel.  He did see a Double-crested Cormorant over Muskegon Lake and added his 68th and final species of the day on his feeder back home: House Finch.

Charlie DeWitt also began at 5:00 a.m. but at the Ferguson Farm (SGA property on River Road north of the Muskegon River).  Notable were Eastern Whip-poor-will, American Woodcock, American Bittern, Barred Owl, Wood Duck, Willow Flycatcher, Sandhill Crane, Swamp Sparrow, Hooded Merganser, Green Heron, Sora, Palm Warbler, Solitary Sandpiper, Yellow-throated Vireo, Pileated Woodpecker, Brown Thrasher, Black-throated Green Warbler, Red-tailed Hawk, Eastern Phoebe and Indigo Bunting.

He then headed for the Walleye Ponds (across the river from Lane’s Landing).  Along Holton Duck Lake Road he saw a Swainson’s Thrush.  At the ponds he found Blue-winged Teal, Cedar Waxwing and Great Egret.  That was the end of Charlie’s birding for the day.

Jim and Tracy Zervos and Feller DeWitt followed the normal Big Day Route and completed a wonderful Big Day all by themselves with 121 species!  They birded Lane's Landing, Muskegon State Game Area and the Wastewater.  When they got to the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve there were so many people that it was unsafe to bird.  The same was true at Snug Harbor.  So they birded the north side of the Muskegon Channel (Muskegon State Park channel campground).  After 12.5 hours, Feller went home.  Jim and Tracy found Snug Harbor still too busy, so finished their day safely birding M.L.N.P. Here's what they found at the five locations:

Notable among the 69 species at Lane’s Landing (240 minutes beginning at 5:30 a.m.) were Trumpeter Swan, Pied-billed Grebe, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, American Woodcock, American and Least Bitterns, Belted Kingfisher, Red-headed and Hairy Woodpeckers, Willow, Least and Great Crested Flycatchers, Yellow-throated, Blue-headed, Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House and Marsh Wrens, Swainson’s and Wood Thrushes, White-crowned and Swamp Sparrows, Eastern Towhee, Bobolink, Northern Waterthrush, Golden-winged, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Cape May, Magnolia, Yellow-rumpled, Black-throated Green and Wilson’s Warblers, American Redstart and Northern Parula.  

In 86 minutes starting at 9:47 a.m. around the SGA headquarters they found 41 species including Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Bluebird, Chipping and Savannah Sparrows, Eastern Towhee, Blue-winged, Magnolia, Palm and Yellow-rumpled Warblers, American Redstart and Scarlet Tanager.

They birded the Wastewater for 182 minutes starting at 12:27 p.m. finding 50 species including Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling, Dunlin, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitcher, Bonaparte’s Gull, Bald Eagle, Broad-winged and Red-tailed Hawks, Common Raven, Tree, Bank, Barn and Cliff Swallows, Eastern Meadowlark and Brewer’s Blackbird.

They found 43 species at Muskegon State Park in 99 minutes beginning at 4:22 including Belted Kingfisher, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows, Eastern Towhee, Black-and-White, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Magnolia, Blackpoll, Black-throated Blue, Palm and Yellow-rumpled Warblers, and American Redstart.

For 91 minutes at the preserve beginning at 6:28 p.m. they found 40 species including Rock Pigeon, Swainson’s Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Cape May, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, Palm and Yellow-rumpled Warblers, and American Redstart.

Ken Sapkowski birded many places on May 16 and reported his species from the Wastewater including Black-bellied Plover, Upland, Least, Semipalmated and Spotted Sandpipers, Wilson’s Phalarope, Bonaparte’s Gull and American Pipit.

Dave Herdegen and Bonnie Kot birded two of the Big Day locations but not at the usual times. For a couple of hours at midday they found 31 species at State Game Area Headquarters and along the Maple River including Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Sandhill Crane, Eastern Phoebe, Baltimore Oriole, Orange-crowned and Palm Warblers, American Redstart, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting.

Then they birded the Wastewater properties for an hour and a half.  They found 33 species including Upland, Least and Spotted Sandpipers, Sanderling, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Lesser Yellowlegs, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Eastern Kingbird, Tree, Bank and Cliff Swallows, Savannah Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlark.

Ken Sherburn began at 5:00 a.m. and birded from Snug Harbor out to Lost Lake for two hours. Instead of frogs, he contended with noises created by fishermen putting in at the Snug Harbor boat launch and roaring off to Muskegon Lake.  Not surprisingly, Ken heard no night birds.  Notable were Veery, Wood Thrush, Ovenbird, and Black-throated Green and Palm Warblers.

Still at Muskegon State Park but around the Lake Michigan Campground Ken recorded Spotted Sandpiper, Least Flycatcher, American Redstart, Chipping Sparrow and the last species added to our list: Merlin!

Ken saw that little dark falcon three times zipping near the shoreline, harrassing some birds in the trees, and finally diving after something behind the lip of the sand bluff caused by lake erosion.  When the bird flew up into Ken's view, it was carrying some kind of prey.

Alphabetized List

Bittern, American

Bittern, Least

Blackbird, Brewer's

Blackbird, Red-winged

Bluebird, Eastern

Bobolink

Bufflehead

Bunting, Indigo

Cardinal, Northern

Catbird, Gray

Chickadee, Black-capped

Cormorant, Double-crested

Cowbird, Brown-headed

Crane, Sandhill

Crow, American

Dove, Mourning

Dowitcher, Short-billed

Duck, Ruddy

Duck, Wood

Dunlin

Eagle, Bald

Egret, Great

Finch, House

Flicker, Northern

Flycatcher, Great Crested

Flycatcher, Least

Flycatcher, Willow

Gadwall

Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray

Goldfinch, American

Goose, Canada

Grackle, Common

Grebe, Pied-billed

Grosbeak, Rose-breasted

Gull, Bonaparte's

Gull, Herring

Gull, Ring-billed

Hawk, Broad-winged

Hawk, Red-shouldered

Hawk, Red-tailed

Heron, Great Blue

Heron, Green

Heron, Little Blue

Hummingbird, Ruby-throated

Jay, Blue

Killdeer

Kingbird, Eastern

Kingfisher, Belted

Kinglet, Ruby-crowned

Lark, Horned

Mallard

Martin, Purple

Meadowlark, Eastern

Merganser, Hooded

Merlin

Oriole, Baltimore
Ovenbird

Owl, Barred

Parula, Northern

Phalarope, Wilson's

Phoebe, Eastern

Pigeon, Rock

Pipit, American

Plover, Black-bellied

Raven, Common

Redstart, American

Robin, American

Sanderling

Sandpiper, Least

Sandpiper, Semipalmated

Sandpiper, Solitary

Sandpiper, Spotted

Sandpiper, Upland

Sandpiper, White-rumped

Scaup, Greater

Scaup, Lesser

Shoveler, Northern

Sora

Sparrow, Chipping

Sparrow, Grasshopper

Sparrow, House

Sparrow, Savannah

Sparrow, Song

Sparrow, Swamp

Sparrow, Vesper

Sparrow, White-crowned

Sparrow, White-throated

Starling, European

Swallow, Bank

Swallow, Barn

Swallow, Cliff

Swallow, Tree

Swan, Mute

Swan, Trumpeter

Tanager, Scarlet

Teal, Blue-wiinged

Thrasher, Brown

Thrush, Swainson's

Thrush, Wood

Titmouse, Tufted

Towhee, Eastern

Turkey, Wild

Veery

Vireo, Blue-headed

Vireo, Red-eyed

Vireo, Warbling

Vireo, Yellow-throated

Vulture, Turkey

Warbler, Black-and-White

Warbler, Black-thoated Blue

Warbler, Black-throated Green

Warbler, Blackpoll

Warbler, Blue-winged

Warbler, Cape May

Warbler, Chestnut-sided

Warbler, Golden-winged

Warbler, Magnolia

Warbler, Nashville

Warbler, Orange-crowned

Warbler, Palm

Warbler, Pine

Warbler, Wilson's

Warbler, Yellow

Warbler, Yellow-rumped

Waterthrush, Northern

Waxwing, Cedar

Whip-poor-will, Eastern

Woodcock, American

Woodpecker, Downy
Woodpecker, Hairy

Woodpecker, Pileated

Woodpecker, Red-bellied

Woodpecker, Red-headed

Wren, House

Wren, Marsh

Yellowlegs, Lesser

Yellowthroat, Common

That's 137 species.  It will be considered "official" unless we receive corrections.  Whether it's more or less than we would have found birding together, we'll never know.  But it's a very good number!  Thanks, Everybody!  Hopefully next year we'll do this the old fashioned way!