Wednesday 1 February 2023

Wild Bird Wednesday 549 - Tested Terns

 At the end of last year I had the opportunity to help with the banding of Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) chicks in a colony on Mud Islands in Pot Philip Bay. 

These are the 'default' tern in my part of the world - but it was still wonderfull to see them at their breeding site.  It was, to say the least, very noisy!

The aim of the day was to be there when large numbers of the chick were capable of running, but not flying.  At this age we were able to pursued the chicks to walk along the beach towards a set of net we had placed on the beach.  The nets had a wide entrance which we could close behind the chicks - and once they had been herded into the net we closed the 'gate' on them.  The parent birds did not approve of this action and were very vocal their protests!

The chicks were banded and released within a few minutes, and it was wonderful to see how quickly the adults found their chicks.  It was advisable to wear a hat during this process as the adult birds would often peck you on the head!








If you ever get a chance to be involved in an activity like this, grasp it with both hands!

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10 comments:

  1. That was fabulous! Good for you! Very impressive! Stewart

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  2. Hari OM
    Hazardous, but rewarding work! YAM xx

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  3. You got to do a wonderful thing! Well worth the risk of getting pecked I'd think. I'd be thrilled just to see that many of these birds and to watch that behavior (how the adults and chicks found each other especially). But to know you took part in this important activity while seeing all that would elevate it all beyond special!!

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  4. Beautiful birds! Cute chicks!

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  5. The chicks are adorable. Fascinating to see this work. Thank you for sharing!

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  6. Very interesting experience. I was attacked by Arctic Terns in Alaska while just walking near (not into) the colony.

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  7. What an intriguing day! Looks like something I would thoroughly enjoy.

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  8. Zazdroszczę Wam! To fajna przygoda. Kiedyś byłam w pobliżu stacji ornitologicznej, która się tym zajmowała. Nie doszło do współpracy, ale cały czas się zastanawiam, czy nie dołączyć, chociaż jako kucharz ;-)

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  9. Beautiful photos of the terns. So many. We have terns in the summer. Have a nice day ! Greetings Caroline

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  10. I doubt if I’ll ever get a chance to do that, but if I do, I’m going to wear a hat with black feathers, so I look like the birds.

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