Seasickness On Land - 20 Jun 2025
Justin Labadie saw the Arctic Tern at Pt Mouillee again last evening, so I thought I'd take a ride to see if it was around this morning. It was warm and humid with temps forecasted to reach 86ºF and heat index for the entire weekend to be in the low 100's so I figured this would be my outing for the weekend.
After breakfast out I drove to the Mouillee Creek parking lot and rode out along the Middle Causeway to the Banana Unit and Cell 3. Engineers were pumping dredging spoils into Cell 3 as I arrived at the east end of Cell 3. Nate and his son Oakley were visiting from Lansing so I asked if they had seen the Arctic Tern. So far no, but Oakley ID'd a pair of Lesser Yellowlegs near the roosting Caspian, Forster's and Common Terns. Well done for an 8-year old?
I set up the scope and joined them, as recent rain and pumping left much of the mudflats under water and very soft. We spent the next 20 minutes or so looking for the Arctic Tern among the dozen Forster's Terns and half-dozen Common Terns. A couple of birds were possible candidates but too far even for 60X zoom on the scopes to verify. I took a few pics w/ the Sony 600mm f/4 and Sony a1 at EFL~1270mm to see if something might show up in images.
Though not seen at the time this small tern may be the Arctic Tern. It appears smaller and darker than the Common Tern behind it, and its legs are shorter by comparison.
As we continued scoping we saw what might be a juvenile Little Gull as we saw a small gull/tern with distinct cap and ear muffs. I initially called it a Little Gull, but upon reflection realized that I was looking at a juvenile Black Tern that was among 4 other adult Black Terns on the flats.
Smelling the dredgings and straining eyes through the scope I suddenly started feeling a bit dizzy and nauseous. The air was still and I was worrying that I might be getting motion sickness, or possibly food poisoning so I decided to head back to the car.
I'd hurry home and spend the rest of the morning sleeping off the nausea and dizziness. Luckily, it wasn't food poisoning and I was feeling well enough to have a beer and bowl of soup for lunch.
Pte. Mouillee SGA (permit required Sep 1-Dec 15), Monroe, Michigan, USJun 20, 2025 8:35 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.356 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Overcast, humid, 74F. Dredge pumping into Cell 3 and recent rain have left mudflats under water.
34 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 23
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) 3
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 4
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 4
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 2 Continuing Cell 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) 2
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 5
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 3
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) 2
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 7
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) 5 Cell 3. Juvenile with dark cap and sideburns. Smaller than juv Forster’s Tern. Originally mistaken as Little Gull. 4 other adults in Cell 3. Heard one calling near west side of Humphries.
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) 9
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) 4
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 4
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 1
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) 2
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) 8
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 2
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 4
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) 2
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) 1
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) 2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 2
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 26
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 1
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 2
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)
