A Tricolored Heron showed up at Erie Marsh Preserve yesterday evening, flagged as notable by eBird and worth the attention of anyone within range of Monroe County today. This is a southern species that does not appear with regularity in Michigan, making yesterday's sighting at 6:55 p.m. genuine news. The bird was at Erie Marsh Preserve/Gun Club, which sits in the county's southwestern reach near the state line and the Ohio border. Access is open right now; the preserve closes September 1 through January 1, so spring is the window for this location.
Beyond the heron, Erie Marsh continues to produce the kind of numbers that make it essential to check in early May. Purple Martins have been reported in concentrations of 30 birds. American White Pelicans are present in loose flocks of 15. Willets, recently tallied at 25, are staging through on shorebird migration. Pectoral Sandpipers and American Pipits, both at 10 individuals, suggest the preserve is handling the full spectrum of spring migrants. Franklin's Gulls have been flagged as rare across multiple sightings at the same location, so scan the gull flocks carefully if you make the drive.
Waterfowl and Shorebirds Hold at Pointe Mouillee
Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, the county's all-time high-species hotspot with 305 species recorded, remains the default for dabbling and diving duck diversity in May. Ruddy Ducks lead the recent counts at 37 individuals, with Lesser Scaup close behind at 36. Gadwall are present in smaller numbers around 12 birds. These are lingering migrants; the ducks that do not leave in April often pile up in the marshes and embayments through early May before pushing north to breeding grounds. Note that Pointe Mouillee requires a permit from September 1 through December 31, but access is unrestricted right now.
The recent eBird data from the past 14 days shows 200 species reported countywide across 200 observations, which is solid output for this time of year and reflects the intensity of spring migration. However, the vast majority of those sightings cluster at two locations: Erie Marsh Preserve and Pointe Mouillee. If you are chasing the Tricolored Heron, get to Erie Marsh. If you want volume and want to work through the shorebirds and dabbling ducks, Pointe Mouillee is the call.
Weather and the Warbler Push
Today's forecast is mostly sunny with temperatures climbing to 63 degrees and only a 12 percent rain chance. Wind is light at 3 to 12 miles per hour from the west. These conditions are not ideal for hearing migrants; overcast and calm mornings with southerly winds push warblers through and pin them to cover, which makes dawn chorus and understory foraging more predictable. Sunny and settled weather pushes birds higher and farther, spreading them out across more territory. Still, the dawn chorus window opens at 5:52 a.m. and runs through 7:52 a.m., so early feet are warranted if you want to catch vireos, thrushes, and flycatchers moving through the county's woodlots and parks. The longer day length of 14 hours and 16 minutes means you have light until 8:38 p.m., which gives flexibility for evening shorebird surveys at the preserves.
Tomorrow's forecast brings 70 degrees and a chance of showers and thunderstorms by afternoon, with wind gusts pushing up to 21 miles per hour from the west-southwest. That pressure system may shake loose additional migrants tonight and tomorrow morning, so if today does not deliver, monitor tomorrow's reports from Pointe Mouillee and Erie Marsh closely.
Where to Go
For the Tricolored Heron and the current concentration of spring migrants, Erie Marsh Preserve/Gun Club is the priority. The preserve has been the engine of Monroe County eBird traffic over the past two weeks and shows the most species diversity in recent reports. Bring a scope if you have one; shorebirds and herons require it in these settings. If Erie Marsh does not yield, or if you want to work the diving duck and waterfowl angle, Pointe Mouillee is 30 minutes north and has produced 37 Ruddy Ducks and 36 Lesser Scaup in recent surveys. Both locations are worth a full morning.
Check the live map and full county eBird data at https://michiganbirdingreport.com for real-time reports and to keep pace with what is moving through Monroe County today.