On November 8th, Detroit Audubon Society had its yearly field trip along
the Lake Huron shoreline from Sarnia to Grand Bend. The most notable
birds where at the Brights Grove sewage lagoons. An adult Little Gull
(first spotted by Joanna Pease) was in with 200 Bonaparte's Gulls. More
surprising to me was a White-rumped Sandpiper with 3 Dunlin on a sewage
lagoon that was a quarter frozen. This bird was initially spotted and
correctly identified by Neil Gilbert, future birding superstar (he is
around 10 years old). We all got to see the sandpiper at very close
range.
At Kettle Point we had a flock of nine Common Redpolls in a snowy
setting. Alf Rider came by in time to see some of the Redpolls. We
dipped on Bohemian Waxwing at Pinery Provincial Park where we spend
considerable time sorting through hundreds of Cedar Waxwings. In the
afternoon under cloudy conditions there was a significant hawk flight
over the Pinery with the hawks mostly very high up. Mostly Red-tails
and Rough-legs but I did see one adult Golden Eagle.
At Sarnia Airport late in the day I had a Northern Shrike and a mixed
flock of Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs.
The Brights Grove sewage lagoons are reached from Sarnia by going east
on 402, past the airport to the exit at Mandaumin Road. Go north to
Highway 7. Go west a half mile (guess) to the drive into the lagoons on
the south side of the road. You cannot see the lagoons from the road.
Walk around the fence in either direction and walk the road south to the
lagoons.
Karl Overman
Farmington Hills, Mi
Karl Overman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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