Best birding place I've ever been, part #1......

(click on any photo to see larger)
One of our stops in Michigan was at Muskegon.  We liked the town so much, we stayed an extra night there.  A very helpful lady at the visitor's center (see below) gave me a brochure for a "birding" place.....the Muskegon County Wastewater Management System.  You have to call ahead and go by the office to get a pass, so we didn't go until the next day.  This was truly the best place I have ever birded as far as the most birds seen in one short part of the day!  I could bird here forever, if I lived close.

The Muskegon Visitor's Center.

Now for some of the birds.  This facility covers 11,000 acres!  Lagoons, dikes, fields and more.  It attracts all sorts of birds.  We were not there at the very best time of year to see it all, but certainly saw plenty while there.  We actually drove out to locate the place late the day we arrived, before we knew we needed a pass.  Just driving into the area, we spotted either a hawk or harrier hunting.

He was swooping overhead and then started "hanging" in one place, obviously eyeing something on the ground.  After he dove I couldn't see him any more.  But I left in a very excited frame of mind for what we might see the next day.

 Driving in the next morning the very first thing we saw was this Red-tailed hawk sitting on a sign.  

I think he sees us.  Better move on.

After getting our pass and map we were told we could drive anywhere there was an open road.

The first road leads along the top edge of two huge lagoons.....looked like lakes....with rocky shores.  There were ducks out on the lagoons and any place that the shore was sort of beach-like, there were sandpipers, plovers, and such.  I've looked up a list someone made of what has been seen here, and apparently just about every kind of sandpiper there is has been sighted here at one time or another.  I'm not good at identifying sandpipers and am trying to get some help, but will just post the best photos I have of the birds and you can give them whatever name you think is correct :-)  Sandpipers are difficult to name.

 A mix of sandpipers

 The one in the middle is a new bird for me....a Semipalmated Plover.

 Semipalmated Plover on the left, sandpiper in middle, Killdeer in the right.

 There were both big and little sandpipers.

 Pretty sure this guy is a Yellowlegs, but not sure whether greater or lesser.  It was much taller than anything else out there.  It's reflection makes me think of a funhouse mirror.....you know the one that make you look really fat and short :-)

 The ones on the left were some of the smaller ones.

Little ones (Sanderlings?)and Killdeer

 Plover and sandpipers

 Killdeer flying away and below one posing on a rock.

There were ducks mixed in part of the time, but as I got closer the ducks all swam out into the deep waters.

 The one on the left is something different, but I haven't decided what yet.  It reminded me of the snipes I have seen here.  Maybe a Dowitcher?

 Yellowlegs

 That odd one again behind the Killdeer.

OK....you are probably sick of sandpipers by now.  I really loved seeing all these waders!  More stuff in my next post.