Tuesday, July 19, 2011

ARCTIC TERN

As an antidote to the oppressive heat smothering much of the country I retrieved photos of an Arctic Tern from my web gallery.

I took them 3 years ago on a perfect early summer day during a trip to the North Sea coast when visiting my family in northern Germany. We were relaxing on a bench facing a small fishing harbor when I noticed an Arctic Tern coursing over the water. I grabbed my camera and, running along the wharf, chased after the bird for the next half hour .












Per BNA Online, the Arctic Tern is  a global traveler, covering an annual round trip of 40,000 km from pole to pole. It breeds around the Arctic Ocean during the northern hemispheric summer, staying for about 2 to 3 months, and then migrates to the opposite pole, the open waters around Antarctica, spending the southern hemispheric summer there, thus accumulating more daylight hours than any other bird. It is pelagic during much of its lifetime and is rarely seen from shore. Its potential life span of 34 years or more is commensurate with the long distances it has to travel.


Sterna paradisaea, distribution migration, red: breeding, blue: winter, green: migration
Author: Andreas Trepte Wikipedia -- Creative Commons License

Arctic and Common Terns are easily confused. Even James Audubon apparently wasn't quite clear about the distinction. In his painting of the Arctic Tern everything looks right except the bill. His bill  is red with a black tip which is typical for the the Common Tern bill whereas the Arctic Tern's bill is entirely red.


By chance there was an article on July 18th in 10,000 Birds by Corey on the Arctic Terns found on Long Island, with a link to an article by Shai Mitra discussing the distinction between Common and Arctic Terns.

This my contribution to this week's World Bird Wednesday. Good Birding!


Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment.



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25 comments:

  1. Robin RobinsonJuly 19, 2011 at 8:02 AM

    Hilke, nice series on the tern. I have yet to see one. Concidering that I live right on the Atlantic, my failure to see one so far is an oddity unto itself! I keep looking and looking. Perhaps i have actually looked rigth at one and have not "seen" it. That's more likey than to have not seen one at all. You inspire me to keep on a lookin'! Thanks

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  2. coreyJuly 19, 2011 at 8:11 AM

    Thanks for the link! I love the action shots you got...such a beautiful bird.

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  3. UnknownJuly 19, 2011 at 9:04 AM

    Great action shots!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  4. Jen SanfordJuly 19, 2011 at 10:21 AM

    Thanks for sharing all the info about this bird... It was really interesting! And the photos are great too! I like the one with the little fish in its mouth.

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  5. Martha ZJuly 19, 2011 at 2:19 PM

    Great images and interesting information.

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  6. SpringmanJuly 19, 2011 at 2:27 PM

    Amazing action Hilke! Let's agree to forgive Mr. Audubon his occasional flubs. My, that drawing is superb! I loved the short course on Arctic tern migration, it's just the sort of thing that fuels my desperate desire to be a bird! It is awesome to imagine the sights along the migration route. One would almost have to guess it logs more miles and daylight hours than any other living being on this planet. Great post and wonderful cerebral nutrition to contemplate by!

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  7. Modesto ViegasJuly 19, 2011 at 2:28 PM

    Very good, well done!!!

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  8. theconstantwalkerJuly 19, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    Beautiful flight shots Hilke... of a favourite bird I can share with you over here.
    Great info as well... thanks

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  9. mickJuly 19, 2011 at 2:59 PM

    Great in-flight photos of the Arctic Tern.

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  10. Hilke BrederJuly 19, 2011 at 3:15 PM

    Thank you all for your kind, thoughtful and inspiring comments!

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  11. jooJuly 19, 2011 at 4:09 PM

    Wonderful photos and such an interesting post!
    Greetings:)

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  12. eileeninmdJuly 19, 2011 at 6:12 PM

    Fantastic shots of the tern in flight. They are pretty birds. Great sighting. Happy Birding.

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  13. Kathie BrownJuly 19, 2011 at 10:16 PM

    This is a wonderful post and I don't blame you for chasing that bird down!

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  14. Stewart MJuly 20, 2011 at 5:34 AM

    Hi there - terns are great - they used to be called Sea Swallow and you can see why.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  15. ArijaJuly 20, 2011 at 5:44 AM

    Hilke, these are superb captures. I can just see you sprinting along the wharf. I certainly could not have done so, If I ran, I would probably collapse and if I didn't, I certainly would not be able to hold the camera steady.

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  16. Dan HuberJuly 20, 2011 at 6:52 AM

    very nice post and photos. gorgeous bird.

    dan

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  17. PatJuly 20, 2011 at 9:46 AM

    What an elegant-looking bird in flight! Nice shots!

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  18. VictoriaJuly 20, 2011 at 1:14 PM

    Oh dear... another blog just found through WBW that has cost me several minutes beyond a quick look to post a comment... marvelous images! And a very interesting story (from your profile) about how you came to birding and why you started your blog.

    I noticed, with interest, that you use several different cameras depending on what you intend to do... I'm thinking on that myself having just returned from a trip to Sweden and Iceland where I lugged an SLR, telephoto +1.4x tele-converter)
    , extensions tubes, tripod (which I rarely carried)... Enough rambling.. I'll add myself as a follower and be back for a longer look after I catch up a bit on all that has accumulated while I was away.

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  19. SondraJuly 20, 2011 at 6:43 PM

    Marvelous Photos I love to watch terns they are magnificent fliers!! ... thanks for your suggestion of using the bleach, we do that about 4 times a yr...unfortunately not everyone is doing it this bird just arrived to my yard with the infection. I have been able to capture and cure many in the past but that one got away. thank for the visit~

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  20. Adam TiltJuly 20, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    Excellent photos Hilke. I've not had any luck photographing Terns yet as they are just too darn fast so great effort.

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  21. J WhittyJuly 20, 2011 at 10:53 PM

    Beautiful, Hilke. Thanks for the cool moment.

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  22. Stewart MJuly 21, 2011 at 5:27 AM

    Hi there - thanks for your comments on my blog - especially about my writing. Do (please!) feel free to pass on the link to my blog to anybody who you think may be interested!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  23. UnknownJuly 22, 2011 at 8:48 AM

    Gorgeous photos and painting!
    And thanks for the Infos!

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  24. AndyJuly 23, 2011 at 4:12 PM

    Excellent info on the Arctic Tern. Love the top photo!

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  25. Lynette KillamAugust 2, 2011 at 6:41 PM

    A lovely series of shots, Hilke! I had to laugh at the picture of you running along the wharf to get a good shot...I've done the same thing myself...LOL.

    Glad you enjoyed my baby gulls...thanks for stopping by!

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