Then we left Detroit and drove to Bay City. The reason we chose to go here is because it is located on the Great Lake Huron. We ate pizza and then swam in the lake. It was warm and the waves were pretty big for a lake.
On the beach we also saw some gulls and Caspian terns. Caspian terns and seagulls differ in appearance and behavior. Here are some of their differences.
- Appearance: Terns have forked tails and sharp reddish orange dagger like bills. Gulls have square or rounded tails and slightly hooked yellowish bills. Caspian terns are threatened and their population is declining quickly, putting them on the track to endangerment. One cause is loss of habitat.
- Behavior: Terns Rarely swim and eat garbage/beg for food. They hover and plunge headfirst for fish. Gulls rarely dive for fish, and often swim and eat garbage/beg for food.
- One cause of the tern population decline is loss of habitat. They nest and live on sandy beaches on the great lakes. But humans are taking over all of these beaches. Pollution in water, and rising water levels are also resulting in less habitat for these terns. Another problem is the rising gull population.
While walking back to our car we saw a Great Egret. To get to the beach from the parking lot and vice versa, you have to walk on this bridge over marshes. In these marshes we saw the bird.
