Executive Editor

When a bird rarely seen east of the Mississippi was spotted by experienced Battle Creek Bird watcher Gordon Green last month, the community of bird watchers across the state flocked here to catch a glimpse.

A Newaygo County woman, Marie Rust, who is pursuing her “Michigan Big Year” (an effort to see as many bird species as possible in one year within a single, geograhic area) even made a beeline to greater East Leroy to see the bird that Green was first to spot - the Black-necked Stilt.

It was No. 152 on her quest and she described the stilt, black on the back, back of neck and top of head with white underneath and pink legs as “another way out of range bird” after finding it based on Green’s report on April 16.

Here is Green’s story:

Do you live in Battle Creek? 

I have lived in the Battle Creek area for most of my life. 

How long have you been bird watching?

I have had an interest in nature most of my life, fostered by my late grandmother.  

It was around spring migration of 2013 that I discovered there was more than just the same 25-30 species of birds in this area. 

How did you get started?

That April of 2013 I was looking out my window and saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler, and was stunned by the colors of this brightly colored male bird.  

I started to focus a little more on some of the other birds that were showing up in my yard that spring and into summer.  

I discovered a now defunct website called mibirdingnetwork.com, and “the” birding website (and phone app), eBird.  

This was my realization there was a whole “thing” called birding.  

It just took hold from there and I’ve not looked back since.  

I started to actively travel around looking for birds late in 2013, including some time while on a business trip in Florida. 

 Have you spotted rare birds before in Calhoun County? Please explain.

I have been lucky enough to see or hear 244 species within Calhoun County, and of those I’d classify 20-25 of them as truly rare.  

They are unreliable from year to year, not expected this far inland, out of their “normal” range, or so extraordinary that the Michigan Bird Records Committee (MBRC) review the sighting to confirm a species occurrence within the state. 

I’ve only seen two of these “Review Species” in Calhoun County.  

One being the Black-necked Stilt and the other a Barrow’s Goldeneye found by Adam Byrne (considered Michigan’s number one birder) in February of this year.  

The rarest bird I’ve seen, arguably, was a Black-legged Kittiwake.  

I observed it flying over the Kalamazoo River in early February of this year.  

The Kittiwake is normally a pelagic (open ocean) bird, but found individually across the Great Lakes year to year.  

It is no longer a review species, but to see one in February this far inland likely will never happen again in my lifetime.  

Unlike the Stilt, this bird was not located again the next day.  

Unfortunately this bird was so far off my radar that I initially identified it as a Bonaparte’s Gull, still rare in February, but a regular visitor in Spring and Fall.  

Looking closer at my pictures and a physical field guide, instead of an app, I thought I might have something much cooler.  

I was able to get confirmation on the Whatbird.com ID forum, via email with Kiehl Smith and eBird.    

 Please tell me the story of how you encountered the stilt, what went through your mind, what it was doing, if you took a photo, how you reacted and what you know about that species?

This particular spot on D DR S has been a great hotspot for bird sightings in the past, so it gets regular visits.  

Due to the drought-like conditions we have around here it has gone from a flooded area, to a mostly mudflat area.  

Shorebirds love mudflats. Shorebirds are very tough to get around this area.  

We often have to rely on small flooded areas, or Water Treatment plants with open lagoons.  

We have had a few spots that flooded reliably, but have been lost as they get drained for tillable land.  

Anytime there is mudflats like this it is always worth checking during migration time.  

I was checking the East side and was disappointed that there were just a few of the same shorebirds that had been there previous days.  

I drove further down D DR S to the West side pond.  

I lifted up my binoculars and was almost immediately on the bird on the far shore.  

It is not a feeling I’ve had with a bird before as I knew how incredibly rare this bird was, not just in Michigan but for our little slice of the state. 

It was a mix of excitement and fear.  

Excitement at finding something this unexpected, and fear that it would take off at any second.  

This last part somewhat related to some joking conversations with the Kalamazoo Rare Bird texting group.  

There was a very rare Little Gull seen in Kalamazoo three days prior.  

I was one of the last people to see it before it left, and it was theorized that I had scared it away.  

Making matters worse was another rare Lesser Black-backed Gull on Duck Lake the day prior that only flew around the lake a few times and left - three rare gulls this year that “spooked” after I saw them. 

I’ve seen the (Black-necked Stilt) in Florida before, and it is one of the most unique looking birds so there was no struggle with the ID.  

The black on top, clean white on bottom and those long pink legs are unmistakeable. 

 I immediately grabbed my camera to get whatever photos I could for documentation before it could possibly be spooked by my presence.  

The bird continued to feed as I was able to finally get out of my Jeep and set up my scope on it. 

Please describe how you made the birding world aware of the stilt and what happened next?

There is a small group of us that bird Calhoun County somewhat regularly that will e-mail each other for notable sightings.  

There is also the Kalamazoo Rare Bird Alert text group, as I mentioned.  

I sent an e-mail and text within minutes of getting the documentation photos.  

Shortly after that I received a text from Mike Cook, a Kalamazoo birder, asking if I would be hanging around for a bit as he was on his way.  

Shortly after I got word out, other birders started showing up every 10-15 minutes for roughly the next hour.  

In total there was around 10 people that showed up that first night. 

In addition to the e-mail and text, word went out on a Michigan wide WhatsApp list from local birder Kiehl Smith.  

The sighting also gets posted to eBird, which will drive alerts to other birders for rare sightings in the state.

The next morning I was there at 7:45 and the number one birder in the state, Adam Byrne, was there trying to locate the bird with another birder.  

He said they had been there for an hour and not found the bird.  

I suggested another spot on E ON DR about two miles away.  

Just as they started to drive away I was able to see the bird way off in the west pond again, and flag them down.  

A bird staying for a second day helps others to make the decision to try to come see the bird.  

I think over the four days it was there around 50 different birders from around the state were able to view it. 

Did e-bird confirm your sighting? Did they contact you and if so, what did they want to know about the bird?

The sighting was confirmed easily and quickly. No question about the ID, so Marc North never had to follow up for more details.   

Have there been any such sightings in areas other than that D Drive South hotspot?

Two Black-necked Stilts showed up in Hillsdale county as one-day wonders (according to eBird) in 2016 and 2017.  

Erie Marsh Preserve (Gun Club) had two there within a week prior, and I see more showed up later in April in that same spot.  

According to the MBRC website (mibirdrecords.com) there have been around 40 accepted records of this species in Michigan prior to this year. 

Please describe what it meant for you and what it means for you to find a rare bird?

This particular bird was a bucket list bird for me.  

It was self-found, it was an MBRC review species, and it was in Calhoun County.  

It will always be one of the best birding experiences of my life.  

Finding rare birds are always fun.  

You never know what you are going to find, and what it may mean for others to be able to see the bird also.  

I also am a bit of a history buff for the county, and adding another species to the list of, now, 290 birds is always something of note.  

I’m sure that active birders find only a small fraction of those vagrant birds that actually show up around the area.  

The more eyes and information shared the better when it comes to rarities.  

We are always wanting to see what new, unexpected bird may show up.