Six people started Saturday morning's Big Day Count at 5:00 by the outer gate of Lane's Landing. Our goal was to find as many bird species as possible in one day. At one time or another eleven people participated as the group birded the State Game Area, the Muskegon Resource Recovery (Wastewater) properties, Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve, and Muskegon State Park's Snug Harbor, Lost Lake Trail, and Muskegon Channel northside. Two people finished at 9:15 p.m. (Photos by Glen Miller.)
Lane's Landing and SGA provided 75 species. Besides the usual suspects these included Trumpeter Swan, American Bittern, Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos, Common Gallinule, Yellow-throated Vireo, Brown Creeper, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Veery, Prothonotary, Blue-winged, Black-and-White, Cerulean and Wilson's Warblers, Acadian Flycatcher, Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Towhee and Scarlet Tanager.
The Wastewater properties gave us 42 more including Red-tailed Hawk, Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur, Wilson's Phalarope, American Pipit, Baird's and White-rumped Sandpipers, Sanderling, Orchard Oriole, Lesser and Greater Scaup, Redhead, Canvasback, American Coot and Kestrel, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Vesper, Savannah and Grasshopper Sparrows, Bald Eagle and Common Raven.
After supper we added Mute Swan and Blackpoll Warbler at the nature preserve, Winter Wren on the Lost Lake Trail, and Purple Martin at the channel. We had no great misses today but were disappointed at finding no Bonaparte's Gull or Black-throated Green Warbler along our way.
The grand total was a very respectable 121 species for the day. Thanks to all who participated!
