Bird Sightings : Hebrides : Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaea

Gaelic: Steàrnag

Photograph © John Dempsey
Grenitote - North Uist - Outer Hebrides (Western Isles)
October 15th, 2006

Juvenile

• AKA Arctic Tern, Sea swallow
• Sterna paradisaea
• 553,000 pairs - summer UK BTO
• AMBER LIST
• Mostly grey & white, red beak & feet, white forehead, black nape & crown, white cheeks. Deeply forked whitish tail giving long "streamers"
• Breeds: UK - Europe, Arctic, North America
• Winters: Antarctic oceans
• Habitat: Tundra, Seacoast, lochs, rivers. Winter - sea
• Diet: Fish, insects
• A chick ringed in Northumberland one June was in Australia, that October (12, 000 mile round trip)
• Usually return to breed in area & colony, where they hatched to breed. Lives to 20yrs.
• Listen to an Arctic Tern RSPB site

The birds winter far South in the Antarctic oceans. In Late April, early May they begin to arrive back in the UK, the northernmost birds arriving back in June. Migration back South starts at the end of the breeding season in late July and August.

 

Our tern phototographs :

Arctic tern juvenile	Arctic tern	Common tern

 

Other local bird photographs

John's Blog of his two week stay in the Uists

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