Detroit River Black Tern - 29 May 2025
Early this afternoon a Black Tern was reported foraging next to the fishing pier at the Humbug Marsh Unit of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. Robin and I decided to take a drive to see if it would stick around for at least the next hour. I'm not certain, but it would be a Wayne County bird for me.
We arrived shortly after 2 pm and sat in the parking lot overlooking the Detroit River. I scanned the fishing pier and intially saw nothing of interest. Then, the first of a dozen Common and Forster's Terns appeared and started foraging along the near shore of the river just south of the fishing pier.
Finally, I spotted the Black Tern among them, grabbed the camera and ran down to the pier just as the White Bass started biting. As I made my way to the end of the pier the Black Tern came into view and made a couple passes overhead. I was able to get some pics against the overcast skies.
Detroit River IWR--Refuge Gateway (Humbug Marsh), Wayne, Michigan, US
May 29, 2025 2:38 PM - 2:40 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.3 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Mostly cloudy, 65F
21 species
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 1
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 1
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) 1
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) 4
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) 8
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 13
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 4
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 9
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 1
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
