Migrations: Watching Seabirds Summer at the Lake
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.
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.
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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
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