January and February at Belle Isle in review

The only place I went birding during the past two months was Belle Isle.  Belle Isle is close to home and I can easily go for just a couple of hours.  I knew there would be waterfowl there and I have not paid attention to waterfowl in a long time.  I was past due.  I also happened to be extremely cold these past two months and very gray.  I tried to get out on the few sunny days we had.  I was successful only a couple of times.    

Common Goldeneye floating with Hooded Mergansers.

Female Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Cackling Goose

Rusty Blackbird

Redhead

Hooded Merganser

American Wigeon seen at Ford Field Park

First cycle Ring-billed Gull

I saw American Kestrel - there were two - during each of my visits.

The improbably named (to me) Ring-necked Duck - the first I have seen in many years.

The arrows point the a cluster of Ring-necked Ducks in the Blue Heron Lagoon.  I find it interesting that they hang out together.  True also for Canvasbacks, whose massive flotillas also had fewer Redheads and scaup species intermingled.  Canvasbacks are the undisputed kings and queens of abundance in the Detroit River around Belle Isle.  They deserve their own photo spot, but the relatively small flotilla below is more representative. 

First spring male Northern Cardinals looking grumpy, but then cardinals usually look grumpy.

Song Sparrow

Tundra Swans

Another Redhead

Female Scaup, probably Lesser

Wood Duck

Female Common Merganser

I did find one seasonally uncommon bird for Belle Isle on January 27th - a flyover Turkey Vulture.  This was a surprise.  Even more of a surprise was that I got identifiable photos.  

It's two days before the end of February and I am not going to have the chance to get to Belle Isle again, so this is my two month winter review. It's been a tough winter (at least for me), but perfect for re-acquainting myself with our local waterfowl and a few other birds. I can't say that waterfowl is my favorite group of birds, but I certainly have a lot of respect for them.

We can never look at White-throated Sparrows in the same way again

A single author article just published in the February 18, 2025 Scientific American is a game changer when we are out in the field.  I might be the only birder who finds this new information startling. Well, as with many things I have encountered in my life, I always seem to be the last to know.  

Just kidding and more accurately, I think many birders will be amazed with this information.  It's an extensive piece, so set aside the time to read and absorb.  I will never be able to see White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) in the same way again.

Male or female?  Hmmm.

This Backyard Bird Has a Lot to Teach Us about Sex Variability, by Donna L. Maney, a neuroscientist at Emory University. Her current research focuses on how sex and gender are treated as variables in biomedical research.

This article was originally published with the title “The Bird That Broke the Binary” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 332 No. 3 (March 2025), p. 48.

Hmmm?

Flashback to January 12, 2006 ...

... Wheatley Harbor, Ontario, Canada.  Yes, the same general location where I viewed the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.  For those unacquainted with this part of Ontario, Wheatley Harbour is a major freshwater commercial fishing port on Lake Erie.  I was with friends Steve Sanford and Gail Franz who drove together from Baltimore, Maryland for this event.  Steve and Gail stayed the night with me and then very early on January 12th we drove to Ontario to see, for all of us, our life Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea).  We stopped for breakfast at the McDonald's in Windsor just across the Ambassador Bridge.

We spent a significant part of our search at Hillman Marsh Conservation Area, where the bird had been most recently reported, sifting through thousands of gulls.  I thought, oh no, Steve and Gail drove all this way and we are going dip on this bird.  Then a stroke of luck.  We ran into another birder who, at the time, I knew well and still would know well, just haven't seen him in ten years - Andy Dettling. Hmmm.  Andy is here.  We might have a chance to see this bird.  

In those days there was no such thing as a smart phone with apps that reported minute-by-minute sightings.  I had a little flip phone but it's unlikely that I had coverage in Canada.  So, how we were alerted to the change of venue I can't remember.  But I do remember that it was Andy who found us, or we found him, and he told us or we told him, that the Ivory Gull was being seen at Wheatley Harbor.  Now I could have this slightly wrong, because I also have a vague memory of looking for and finding Andy asleep in his car.  That part of this story will remain a mystery.  

I had done quite a lot of birding in this part of Ontario and, as it happened, I had recently visited Wheatley Harbor.  We loaded up in my little 1999 Toyota RAV-4, I got my bearings (no Google maps in those days either) and we flew low, fortunately, down a well-graded dirt road and wove our way to Wheatley Harbor.  We easily found the breakwater; the telltale sign being birders lined up with their spotting scopes.  We walked along the breakwater (I think it had a narrow paved top that made walking possible) and there was the bird.  I don't recall if Andy was already there or if he arrived shortly afterwards.     

Above and below are photos that I took with a tiny, beginner's Nikon digital camera purchased second hand from birding neighbors for $50. Cheap digital cameras were then in their most rudimentary form.

I probably shouldn't reveal this but, in the photo above, that's Andy crawling on his belly (he had a nice, big lens Canon) and the white speck just in front of the rocks, that's the Ivory Gull. 

Above and below, digiscoping in its infancy.  I'm quite sure that these three photos are my very first attempts.  I never did improve much beyond this.

  

I no longer do this kind of chasing.  Well, for a reasonably nearby Ross's Gull I might.  I'll always remember this as such a great day.  A completely different era of birding for me.

Has this been the longest winter?

Today is February 10, 2025.  The current temperature is 15 degrees F. Remarkably it is sunny!  I am so ready for some warmer weather.  I know I'm not the only one.  The mornings are brighter earlier and the evenings are lighter longer.  The multi-day temperature forecast is still pretty grim with at least one day predicted to fall into negative territory.  There is more snow forecasted.  Sunshine will be fleeting at best.  Nevertheless, we can keep our spirits up knowing that soon Cardinals will begin to sing.  This is always my signal that winter is losing its grip.     

Northern Cardinal.  Photo taken January 31, 2025 at Belle Isle Nature Center.

Addendum on 02/17/2025

4:10 pm: just returned from taking my neighbor's German Short-haired Pointer for a walk.  Temperature 15° F, feels like -2°  F .  I was stunned to hear, for the first time this year, Red-winged Blackbirds calling from a stand of tall trees on a golf course where they are heard throughout the summer.  I felt bad for them.  They returned too early.  What are they eating?  Tomorrow the high for the day is predicted to be 15° F with a full day of sun, the one bright sign predicted in the weather this week.  Meanwhile, I still have not heard a cardinal sing. 

Addendum on 02/23/2025  

On an afternoon walk, cold as anything, but brightly sunny, on February 21st, I heard two Northern cardinals singing.  This morning early ~ 7:00 am or so, also clear skies, I heard a Cardinal singing.  It is predicted to be 37° F today.  If this occurs, it will be our first temp break in many days.  

Confusing American Wigeon

I know, I know, enough with the American Wigeon (Anas americana) photos already.  Aren't one or two enough?  Bear with me.  It was on February 5th or 6th that I read on the Discord birding group app that a couple of birders had reported an American Wigeon and Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) present on January 30th at a location very near to my home.  While not out of the realm of possibility, both of these birds at this location was a surprise.  February 7th came and it was cold and brightly sunny.  Especially for the wigeon, I knew there was a good chance it would still be present and I had not seen one in a while.  I had something to do with my mother that morning and this site is located between where my mother lives and where I live.  I packed my camera and upon leaving my mother's home I stopped by Ford Field park.  I didn't know where along the river the birds were located but from a footbridge I saw a large cluster of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) just a little upstream and I started there.  At first it was all Mallards.  No sign of the Common Merg or American Wigeon.       

Then tucked against the bank opposite where I was standing I saw something different.  My eyesight is okay but not great, so I was happy when it began swimming slowly away from the bank.  Definitely an American Wigeon.    

Ah, it's a female.  The sex of the bird had not been previously mentioned.

Then I questioned this.  Is it a female?  

I continued to photograph the wigeon.  It was being calm and cooperative and came quite near.  Even though it was sunny and my back was to the sun, more or less, more like over my left shoulder, I knew I was not getting the bird in good light.

The size difference between the wigeon and the mallards was notable and a good thing to see.

In all I took approximately twenty photos from which I've plucked these as being amongst the best.  I knew that I would need to download the photos on my computer before I could truly study it for the purpose of trying to sex the bird.   

By the time I walked away from the bird to head downstream to see if anything else, like Common merg, was on the river - there wasn't - I had in mind that this bird was a male in non-breeding plumage.

Sibley is my go to guide.  I could not match this bird with any of his illustrations.  I looked on-line and also at a European field guide - neither of which were helpful for this bird.  Based on the Sibley illustrations, focused especially on the buffy cheek and the white pocket-patch (Sibley calls it a hip-patch), I stood by my identification of a male bird in non-breeding plumage and posted it as such on both Discord and eBird.  

My Discord post received an almost immediately response.  "All Wigeon will currently be in breeding plumage fyi."  I replied to this with "Hmmm.  Interesting."  This bird is certainly not my idea of either a male or female wigeon in breeding plumage.  While I did put my photos on eBird, I don't know how to post photos to Discord, so I knew that the responder was simply making a general statement.  But it bothered me and I felt that I should pursue it.

Yesterday, I emailed Allen Chartier with a shorter version of this story and rather than attach a bunch of photos I  referenced the photos I posted on eBird.  Allen is also on Discord and was able to see the Common merg (posted a great photo on eBird) on January 30th, but missed seeing the wigeon.  He was leading an Audubon field trip along the St. Clair River yesterday and, after all that cold weather, was too tired to respond until this morning.  

I didn't really know who to query about this bird and, truthfully, Allen was the only person who came to mind.  This is because I have read his responses to other birders' queries and they are always clear and detailed.  I received his reply this morning, (including the St. Clair River part), and it was clear and detailed.  As follows:  "That particular American Wigeon is problematic, in my opinion.  While it is correct that they are not molting this time of year, many birders may not realize that molt is more variable than they realize.  The patch of cream color in that bird's nape and, if it is present, some green on the cheek are male characteristics.  Molt can be delayed if a bird is struggling with poor nutrition.  So this could be a male that simply has not molted into full breeding plumage, and likely will not.  Another possibility is that it is a female showing some male-like traits.  This occurs in many species and seems to be associated with older birds.  Female Baltimore Orioles with black throats are the most frequent example that I have seen.  So, this could be an older female with male-like traits.  It would be nice to see photos of that wigeon taken on a sunny day, but we haven't had very many of those recently."

I like this response from Allen for the learning it contains.  In the future I'll look at these kinds of situations differently.  

My original guess at sex identification was further influenced by a detail that I did not share on Discord or eBird and this is because I couldn't share it visibly.  In my camera I could enlarge one of the photos to such an extent that a slight hint of green could be discerned on the back of the bird's head and neck.  This could not be seen when I downloaded the photos on to my computer.  Based on Allen's explanation this would change my ID that this American Wigeon is a bird of ambiguous sex.  Does it favor a male bird?  Possibly.  Or maybe an older female showing a hint of green.  Also possible.  

I reopened my eBird post and edited my discussion and the sex identification for this wigeon as unknown.  For me what's important about this is that details - in whatever form they are present - are important to understanding birds and birding. 

Addendum 02/12/2025

Just catching up with the Discord app discussion today.  Four new photos taken by the birder who originally found the wigeon, all with the bird standing on land or ice, were posted on Feb. 9th for a deeper-dive look.  Based on the new photos, Allen posits that this bird supports more female-like plumage.  

Addendum 03/16/2025   

On a recent Sunday morning I found the following bird in the large fountain pond lake on the western side of Belle Isle park.

It was the bird above that, from a distance, made me think I was seeing Gadwall (Mareca strepera, formerly genus Anas).  I haven't seen Gadwall in quite a long time and so this gave me a brief moment of excitement.

In better light the bright white forehead of the bird revealed its true identity.

There were two present.  When I saw the Ford Field American Wigeon I thought it would be the only one I would see all year.  I was wrong.  Belle Isle pulled through for me again with a new island bird for the year.  Through January, February and March I have visited Belle Isle perhaps ten times and while I have seen mostly the same waterfowl and other birds every time, each visit has surprised me with one new bird.   Now that April is approaching this number will increase.  After our very cold winter, I can't wait.

I drove around the lake chasing them for closer views.  Not the greatest photos, but waterfowl will almost always thwart this birder with a camera.