GlenysNorfolk Island - White Tern
April 7th 2011 06:17
... and some young birds live precariously ...
White Terns, or Fairy Terns as they are commonly known, are a small, brilliant white sea bird, with a long, black beak and big black eyes. Their eyes look big because they're ringed with black.
We were walking the track in Rocky Point Reserve on Norfolk Island when our attention was captured by two White Terns who were paying attention to each other. They were on a bare branch of a Norfolk Island Pine and appeared to be carrying bark in their beaks. We assumed they were building a nest, but the branch seemed an unlikely place.
A few days later we were on a walking tour in Norfolk Island National Park when we saw a White Tern sitting on a thin branch. We were very interested to hear the Tour Guide explain that White Terns often lay their one speckled egg in a slight hollow on a branch of a tree, or in the fork of a tree where two branches meet. This Tern was a regular to this spot. Of course the egg and later on the chick are in a precarious situation, but the chick has well developed feet to help it cling to the branch to enhance its chances of survival. If an egg or chick is lost the female soon lays another egg.
As White Terns don't build nests, the pair we spotted in Rocky Point Reserve were probably courting. Perhaps they were lining the hollow with bark?
In the White Tern world both parents incubate the egg and the parents feed their young for up to two months.
White Terns feed themselves and their young on small fish.
White Terns, or Fairy Terns as they are commonly known, are a small, brilliant white sea bird, with a long, black beak and big black eyes. Their eyes look big because they're ringed with black.
We were walking the track in Rocky Point Reserve on Norfolk Island when our attention was captured by two White Terns who were paying attention to each other. They were on a bare branch of a Norfolk Island Pine and appeared to be carrying bark in their beaks. We assumed they were building a nest, but the branch seemed an unlikely place.
White Terns, Rocky Point Reserve, Norfolk Island
White Terns, Rocky Point Reserve, Norfolk Island
A few days later we were on a walking tour in Norfolk Island National Park when we saw a White Tern sitting on a thin branch. We were very interested to hear the Tour Guide explain that White Terns often lay their one speckled egg in a slight hollow on a branch of a tree, or in the fork of a tree where two branches meet. This Tern was a regular to this spot. Of course the egg and later on the chick are in a precarious situation, but the chick has well developed feet to help it cling to the branch to enhance its chances of survival. If an egg or chick is lost the female soon lays another egg.
White Tern, on its nest, Norfolk Island National Park.
White Tern, on its nest, Norfolk Island National Park.
As White Terns don't build nests, the pair we spotted in Rocky Point Reserve were probably courting. Perhaps they were lining the hollow with bark?
In the White Tern world both parents incubate the egg and the parents feed their young for up to two months.
White Terns feed themselves and their young on small fish.
*** life can be tough ***
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