Tag Archives: American Wigeon

May 19, 2023 – The Best Day

American Wigeon

American Wigeon (click to see the larger version)

May 19 will go down as the best day for migration in 2023. Montrose was full of warblers, thrushes, and flycatchers. It was also full of birders. Over 140 species were reported to eBird by all observers, and several people topped 100, which only happens a couple times each year. My highlights include

American Wigeon (late)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Ruddy Turnstone (4)
Common Tern
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Golden-winged Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Mourning Warbler (6!)
Hooded Warbler
Summer Tanager
Dickcissel

Migration will start to wind down, but late May is still an excellent time for later warblers and vireos, and flycatchers will continue to increase through the end of the month.

Dabblers and Divers – March 2, 2023

American Wigeon

American Wigeon flying north past Montrose Point (click to see the larger version)

An impressive flight of dabbling and bay ducks took place on the morning of March 2. This flight included numbers of Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Redheads, and Canvasbacks, the latter uncommon at Montrose. Most of these birds were flying north into a strong headwind. This seems counterintuitive but is typical behavior for migrating spring ducks along the western shore of Lake Michigan.

Eastern Phoebe and Eastern Meadowlark, March 10, 2013

An Eastern Phoebe and Eastern Meadowlark were at Montrose this morning. There were also a lot of Song Sparrows around. On the waterfowl front I had 4 Canvasbacks, 3 Green-winged Teal, and 3 American Wigeon flying south along the lake. The trails and paths were wet and muddy but at least the snow and ice are starting to melt.