Common Terns - Meet Tish
 
About Me!  Names Sterna Hirundo Common Tern Sea Swallow Nickname: Tish Description I have a light grey back, white under parts, a white, deeply forked tail, and a glossy black cap and nape. My pointed wing tips are noticeably darker than those of the roseate tern who I sometime hang with. My tail is also shorter and has darker outer edges. Our Photo Albums  My Baby Picture with my younger brother.  Mom & Me  Favorite Foods  Small fish Shrimp Aquatic insects Learn More  www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Common_Tern_dtl.html http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Common_Tern_dtl.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0
 
Its all about me! I’m Tish and I’m anything but common! I fly very gracefully over the water with deliberate wing beats, head turned down at a right angle to my body. When I see a fish or tadpole, I dive beautifully to catch my aquatic prey. I too am sensitive to disturbance during the breeding season, whole colonies of my family have often fail to breed successfully because of disruption by humans; as a result, my numbers are slowly declining. I will attack human intruders in my nesting colony, often striking them on the head with my bill. Watch out! My uncommon tricks include drinking mainly on the wing, gliding with my wings slightly raised and dipping my bill several times into the water to get a drink. Yes, I drink salt water I have these interesting nasal glands that excrete the excess salt. Way cool! From late April to mid-May, we arrive at Stone Harbor’s Point. My nest is a simple scrape built above the high tide line in sand, gravel, shells or wind rowed seaweed. I usually line it with vegetation. I’ll lay 2-4 eggs during late May through July. Both my mate and I will share incubation duties for 21 to 27 days. The young will fledge about 28 days after hatching. One brood per season is typical, but re-nesting is common when the first nest is destroyed. By mid-October, we will depart for our wintering grounds, sometimes flying as fast as 40 mph. I normally winter in Brazil. The population has declined more than in half from 950 in 2005 to 449 in 2006. I love to fish for dinner, I do this by striking the water in shallow dives or skimming the surface. Dinning on small fish up to 3-4 inches in length. My cousin was banded and was found to be 25 years old upon recapture. Cool! Love, Tish I nest at the point!