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Migrations: Watching Seabirds Summer at the Lake

October 20, 2021
You don’t have to go to the ocean to see gulls!
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Surf Scoter swimming in clear lake water, lit by sunlight Expand Image
© Doug Greenberg

Many oceanic species like grebes, loons, pelicans, and gulls migrate far inland to raise their young near freshwater lakes. Ring-billed Gulls, for example, breed throughout the northern U.S. Forster’s Terns can be found catching fish in the upper Midwest in the summer. In northern Canada, you may even catch a glimpse of a Surf Scoter as it dives below the glassy surface of the lake. These species return to the coasts for the winter.

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BirdNote®

Seabirds Summer at the Lake

Written by Ariana Remmel

This is Bird Note.
It’s a hot summer day in Minnesota, so you’ve thrown on a swimsuit, grabbed a towel, and packed a picnic for an afternoon at Lake Osakis (pronounced oh SAY kus). But wait a minute… are those gulls?
[Ring-billed Gull calls https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/222818131]
That black band around their sharp yellow beaks means these are Ring-billed Gulls sharing your afternoon on the water. 
You don’t have to go to the ocean to see gulls — in fact, many oceanic species like grebes, loons, pelicans, and gulls migrate far inland during spring migration to raise their young near freshwater lakes.
Like this bird!
[Forster’s Tern call https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/101085181]
A Forster’s Tern hovers with quick wingbeats before diving headlong into the water to grab a silvery fish just below the surface.

If you’re in northern Canada, you may even catch a glimpse of a Surf Scoter — maybe just a flash of the white patches on its face — as it dives below the glassy surface of the lake. At the end of the breeding season, these sea ducks, like the other pelagic visitors, will make the long migration to the coast where they’ll spend the winter.
[Surf Scoter calls, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/195208 and https://www.xeno-canto.org/76453]
Next summer, try letting the seabirds come to you. 
For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.
###
Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Digital Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Ring-billed Gull ML 222818131 recorded by D. Sterner, Forster’s Tern ML 101085181 recorded by E. Gorda, Surf Scoter ML195208 recorded by R Nelson, and Surf Scoter Xeno Canto 76453 recorded by A. Spencer.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote      October 2021      Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# migration-34-2021-10-20    migration-34
 

Ariana Remmel
Writer
Ariana Remmel
Narrator
Doug Greenberg
Photographer
Tags: migration

Related Resources

Wait - That’s NOT a Seagull? - Michigan State University Extension OfficeRing-billed Gull - More at All About BirdsForster’s Tern - More at All About BirdsSurf Scoter - More at All About Birds

More About These Birds

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)

Larus delawarensis

Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)

Sterna forsteri

Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)

Melanitta perspicillata

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