Thirty-eight people gathered on a cold Sunday morning in February to enjoy the many waterfowl that visit the St. Clair River during the winter months. Our first stop was at the Bluewater Bridge where we were treated to a good view of the peregrine falcon that flew past and landed on the bridge. Our scopes came in handy and some of the participants had great success with “digiscoping” (using your camera/cellphone to take a photo through the scope). We saw a pair of cackling geese which was the highlight of this first stop!
I think the funniest event at this stop was when two walkers stopped to ask our large group, with scopes and binoculars pointed out toward the lake, “What is coming?” My response was met with the most incredulous look I have ever witnessed … as my response was “we are looking at ducks”. At this point he paused and said “What?” I said again “we are looking at ducks … and geese.” He replied with a chuckle and said “Well, there are lots here.” And continued his walk. I guess it takes some getting used to the idea that a group of people are willing to brave the cold wind to stand and look at ducks and geese!
Further down the river we stopped at Guthrie park to observe the dabbling and diving ducks around the warm water outflows, the ice-taxiing gulls, and eagles staging their hunt at the head of Stag Island. Then, without warning, thousands of birds took to the air from their water rafts to put on an aerial orchestra. Was it an eagle or a boat that caused the commotion? We weren’t sure, but the fleeting moment was spectacular!
We continued to enjoy the day with several stops along the river, ending at a great little restaurant in Sombra. Although we saw bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, swans, and lots of waterfowl I think from the reactions of the participants I would have to say the highlight of the day was the lesser black-backed gulls!
A big thanks to Paul Carter for leading the group and making sure everyone had the opportunity to see the different birds and explaining what to look for when identifying different species.
Here is a partial list of bird species we enjoyed throughout the morning:
- Peregrine Falcons
- Cackling Geese
- Hundreds of Long-tailed Ducks
- Mallards
- Buffleheads
- Herring Gulls
- Crows
- Starlings
- Northern Cardinals
- Canada Geese
- Hooded Mergansers
- Bald Eagle
- Common Goldeneye
- Common Merganser
- Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- Greater Black-backed gulls
- Red-tailed hawks
- Canvasbacks
- Redheads
- Mute Swans
- American Black Ducks
