We have all heard the saying “April showers bring May flowers”. For us birders though April showers bring migrating shorebirds!

The forecast for today was expected to be rainy and wet for most of the day. So in crazy birder fashion, it was time to put on my raincoat, put on my waterproof hiking boots, and make sure the waterproof pants were in the car (juuust in case) and head out looking for the water lovers!

I had a couple of targets today. So there was a method to my madness.

My first stop was Jones Rd. Boat Launch just outside of Bay City, Michigan where a Snowy Egret was seen the day before. While the egret didn’t show itself I was able to see almost 20 American White Pelicans which was quite a treat!

Bay City State Park was the next destination. I was able to score Caspian and Foresters Tern along with a couple of Spotted Sandpipers foraging along the shoreline.

My next area to explore was the 1500-acre Nayanquing Point State Wildlife Area in Pinconning, Michigan where Hudsonian Godwit had been reported the day before. I was able to get on the bird pretty quickly which made it life bird number 474! I ended up spending more than 2 hours here and walked a total of five and a half miles before calling it quits. American Widgeon, Green Winged, and Blue Winged Teal were present along with a couple dozen Northern Pintail. Shorebirds such as Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and Dunlin were present along with a Long Billed Dowitcher.

After a quick check of the Michigan Rare Bird alert, I saw that the Snowy Egret had been seen again so I headed back to try and add the bird. Unfortunately, there was no sign of it and after checking a couple of other spots along the Saginaw River and after getting wind of another rare bird in the area decided to chalk it up as a loss and head for my next and last stop of the day.

As I said before, another rarity showed up at Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge about a half hour from me and on my way back home. Upon arriving I quickly got on the Black Necked Stilt that got me in a hurry from my previous location. There were also a few other unexpected visitors to the mudplane. A beautiful Ruddy Turnstone turned up along with another five Long Billed Dowitchers. THREE RARITIES IN ONE SPOT! What a good way to end the day!

Or so I thought!

On my drive home and after making my way through a bit of rain the setting sun popped out and produced a beautiful bright rainbow to finish the day!

I ended the day with 77 species seen including 1 life bird (Hudsonian Godwit), 2 state life birds (Hudsonian Godwit and Black Necked Stilt), and 18 new year birds that bring my total to 142 for the year!

The full species list is here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/123348?welcome=true

Quite a day indeed!