Hi folks! This is Hannah Glass here, and I am the supervisor out on Metinic Island for the summer. Birding has always been a hobby of mine, and since graduating from Virginia Tech in 2020 with a degree in Wildlife Conservation, I have been pursuing various avian related field jobs. I arrived later than Liz and Hayden, because I was finishing up my third season working for the Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch in Northern Michigan trapping and banding diurnal raptors. Upon arrival, both gals gave me the run down on how things have been thus far, and we dove right in to what seems like will be a busy, busy summer!
Left: Here I am holding an adult red-tailed hawk. Right: Here I am holding an adult male (left) and juvenile male (right) northern harrier.
From left to right: myself, Liz, and Hayden. It’s been great getting to work with these two!
A few things I had really been looking forward to for the summer were getting to see new bird species (lifers). Well, I didn’t have to wait long. On my boat ride to the island, as we were pulling into the cove, I got to see several black guillemots, and I was SO excited! Since then, I have had the pleasure of seeing these sleek alcids by the dozens on a daily basis. I don’t think it will ever get old. Another species I was excited to see regularly were common eiders. Boy oh boy, are they around! This is a bird that I have only seen a handful of times, so getting to see (and hear) them daily is exciting. If you have never heard the different calls they make, I encourage you to look them up and take a listen. You won’t regret it!
Left: Three black guillemots swimming in the shallow waters of the cove. Right: A male common eider looking elegant as ever.
On Tuesday, May 21st, the first two tern nests of the season were found! This is the earliest that a tern nest has been found on Metinic in the last several years, which was exciting to learn. Since that day, we have continued to find lots of nests. When I say “lots” I mean over 200 common and Arctic tern nests WITH eggs! We are super stoked about the productivity. Over the winter, the island had some pretty rough storms which changed up the habitat on part of the island where the terns nest. The terns have deemed that habitat quite suitable, as we have found many nests in that area. Each day we have conducted tern stints from the blinds. Many behaviors such as territoriality, courtship, copulation, feedings, and incubation have been documented. As we continue to find more nests, we see that the terns are spending longer amounts of time on the island to defend their territory and incubate their eggs.
Left: Arctic terns copulating. Right: Common terns copulating.
Left: A common tern bringing food to its mate. Right: An Arctic tern settling down to incubate its egg.
One of my favorite thing about tern nests is the insane variation in egg colors and markings. Even within the same nest, you can sometimes see wildly different looking eggs. So far we have found several nests with three eggs, and even one nest with four eggs. Take a look!
Not only are the terns nesting on the island, but we have found several other species beginning to nest as well. These include common eiders, Canada geese, spotted sandpipers, and Savannah sparrows.
From left to right: spotted sandpiper nest, Savannah sparrow nest, and Canada goose nest.
I’ll leave y’all with all of that excitement for now. Until next time, enjoy this picture of one of the many beautiful sunsets we get to experience out here.
-Hannah
Summer with the seabirds 