Lake Huron Beach Walk!

Friday morning hosted a pretty sunrise over Lake Huron with lots of silhouetted Gulls! 

After the sun rose, other birds, including a pair of Mute Swans made appearances.

The bill of the Northern Shoveler is very large and is shaped like a shovel. It has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges that act like a colander, filtering out tiny crustaceans, seeds, and aquatic invertebrates from the water. They are normally found in wetlands but this pair was likely taking a migration break while hanging out with some Mallards on Lake Huron.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shoveler/overview

Red-breasted Mergansers in flight

Canada Goose taking a water break!

When one Gull catches a fish, other gulls want in on the action!

A very proud Ring-billed Gull strutted along the sand with his prized Goby before eventually swallowing it.

Several Gulls were feasting on mussel shells at the water's edge. The cluster of shells in this photo are likely Quagga Mussels, which are a sub species of Zebra Mussels. Both mussels are invasive to the Great Lakes and are native to Eastern Europe.

A migrating Killdeer took a break along the shoreline!  Killdeer are not normally associated with large bodies of water. They are well-known for living on dry habitats, but the Killdeer is actually a proficient swimmer! Adults swim well in swift-flowing water, and chicks can swim across small streams! (It didn't step into Lake Huron on my watch!)

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer/overview

Crashing Waves

Lots of track activity was visible on the sandy beach. A few Wild Turkeys had recently walked to the water's edge for a drink of water.

Water is essential to life. A set of unknown animal tracks, with a curvy dragging tail, walked to the lake for a drink. We guessed perhaps a Snapping Turtle as they have been spotted this past week.

I wasn't the only one walking along the beach. For a short stretch, a pair of Mallards joined me!