HURON, Ohio — As Summer rolls on, people are flocking to cities and towns all along the Lake Erie shore.
One such city is Huron. Its marina, boat basin, and river walk are popular destinations for folks from all over the world.
A big attraction for the area is the myriads of birds that spend summer at the Huron Impound. It's a muddy point that has a small beach, some mud flats, and scrub vegetation.
On July 7, something was seen there that no one had ever seen before in Ohio.
As the story goes, Holly Lynn and Sarah Taylor — both avid birders and members of neighboring Audubon Society clubs — found an odd looking tern at the impoundment. Another birder, Chad Wilson, also saw the smallish tern.
The question all asked was, "What is it?" After examining lots of photos and computer research, the group contacted other bird experts online. They finally came to the conclusion that this was a bird never reported in Ohio before.
"We identified it as a roseate tern, which is just so improbable," Taylor said.
Word of the discovery spread like wildfire through the birding community. It was like the birders had found a unicorn.
"It's not supposed to be here," Taylor explained. "It's the first state record for this species, we think, and that's pretty cool."
Roseate terns are rare even in their own territory, which is along the Maritimes in the North Atlantic. There are other small colonies around the world, but they only number about 100,000 nesting pairs.
"I've never seen one away from salt water before," naturalist, author, and bird expert Kenn Kaufman said. He visited the Huron pier and saw the vagabond bird, but there's more to this creature than what meets the eye.
On a particularly great photo, birders noticed it was a banded bird. It has an identity.
"Apparently, the bird was banded as a chick in 2022 on Eastern Egg Rock, which is off the coast of Maine," Kaufman explained. "That's cool for me, because I've been to Eastern Egg Rock and seen the roseate terns there."
That means this winged wanderer flew more than 650 miles to get to Huron on the shores of Lake Erie. Birders from as far away as Illinois have come to see the tern. Jonathan Hudak and his girlfriend Kim traveled from Cleveland, binoculars and cameras in hand, to look for the rarity.
Hudak explains the passion he feels while looking for something he hasn't seen. "People don't understand it, what it's like when you see a lifer bird," Hudak said of the passion he feels while looking for something he hasn't seen. "It's a big treat."
"It always feels like a treasure hunt," Kim adds, with a smile.
Terns are long-distance flyers, and Kaufman says this bird may leave at any time. However, it may stay, feeding on the abundant small fish in Lake Erie and the Huron River.
Birding in Ohio is one of the fastest growing outdoor activities, and the community is always willing to welcome new participants.