In the midday heat of the summer, I don’t typically see many birds active in marshes.
A few Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons can be found along the shorelines.
Or perhaps a Wood Duck with their duckling family or Trumpeter Swans with their cygnets.
It can be pretty quiet in the marshes, except for the calls of the Red-Winged Blackbird.
But I’ll often see terns as they fly and circle over canals and marshes.
They have a purpose: they’ll take a quick dive into the water to grab a tasty fish in their bill.
That’s exactly what I saw today!
At two different marshes on the western shore of Lake Erie in Ohio and Michigan, I saw a small group of terns fly out over the water.
Each bird would leave the group to fly a short distance away, before diving head first into the water and quickly fly off.
Some had food in their bills, but most didn’t.
The birds would circle again and keep returning to dive for food.
I managed to capture this photo of a successful tern coming out of the water with a small fish in its bill.
Did you notice the water droplets the tern left behind as it began to fly off?
What’s the Difference Between Terns and Gulls?
When you visit the beach or wetlands, you’ve likely seen both terns and gulls.
If you’re not sure whether you’re looking at a gull or tern, here are a few tips:
- Terns are slimmer than gulls
- Terns and gulls have different bills. Terns have pointy bills, gulls have a more hooked bill.
- Terns dive headfirst into the water from above, gulls don’t dive. Terns will grab the food from the water and fly off, without staying on the water.
Many years ago, when I first started birding, another birder shared a tip with me about distinguishing a tern from a gull.
Terns will often have their head turned down toward the water as it searches for food.
Do you see terns and gulls in your area? Or do you visit the beach or wetlands where you see them?
