Whimbrel - 25 Aug 2019

With thanks to Andrew Sturgess I was able to re-find the Whimbrel that was reported a day earlier by Bruce Arnold and Tim Thompson.

I parked at Mouillee Creek and rode the bike along the Middle Causeway of Pt. Mouillee SGA this morning. Skies were clear and the Sun was on the horizon. By the time I had reached the North Causeway it was directly in my eyes and causing tears to run down my cheeks. I caught up with Andy, who was heading south along the dike separating Vermet Unit and Cell 5. He mentioned that the Whimbrel was just flushed and had flown around the back of Cell 5, so I continued east.

About 100 yds up the dike I flushed the Whimbrel into the Sun, but it quickly circled back behind me and landed on the rocks along the Lake Erie shoreline. With the Sun now behind me I had gorgeous views of a gorgeous bird. As it preened I digiscoped it from about 60' away.

It would make its way back onto the dike, where it foraged along the trail ahead of me before flying off to the west. It would later be found by others in this same area.  Beautiful bird!