The Terns are back! One of the most exciting birding is watching the Terns fly up and down the river or along the lake, listen to their vocalizations and then watch the aerial acrobatics followed by a dramatic drop into the water to catch small fish. The plunge is instant and the emergence quick, dripping the water from their body and the wings working to get airborne. Sometimes they will have a small fish in their mouth, sometimes not.
With all that effort to catch their food, they need a rest. At the weir they have favourite perches on top of the steel posts and on the buoys strung along the entrance (and exit) to the weir.
If you get to the weir too early, there won’t be any Terns to see. Like an early morning rush to work, at a certain time they start to appear until the sky is chattering with their distinct calls to each other. Then the show begins.
Getting a photo of the Terns plunging and emerging from the water requires patience and a whole lot of luck. My one friend, Nelson, came up with a strategy. Instead of focusing on them, focus on the point in the water where you think they are about to plunge and get your trigger finger ready for your camera. The problem: so often it looks like they are going to plunge and just before they do, they swoop and change direction.
Now to identify them. There are many types of Terns. The two that are likely to be in our area are Common Terns and Forster’s Terns. The differences are subtle and I haven’t mastered this one yet! I am having a lot of fun figuring it out, learning so much along the way.
Here is my guess and why. Forster’s Tern:
I think the bill and legs are more orange than red and the bill is a bit heavier - Forster’s
I think the wings when folded don’t go all the way to the tail - Forster’s
I think the body is more white than grey - Forster’s
Here is a site that allows you to compare: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Tern/species-compare/72456071
I could be wrong and just hopeful that it is a Forster’s Tern, a more rare sighting than a Common Tern.
I will let you decide… Whatever you decide, get out and see these amazing birds do their aerial acrobatics, it truly is stunning.
Happy birding!
To learn more about Forster’s Terns: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Forsters_Tern/id
To learn more about Common Terns: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Tern/id