Least Terns - Meet Lester
 
Our Family  Names Sterna antillarum Least Tern “little striker” “sea swallow” Nickname: Lester Description I’m the smallest of the North American Terns. I’m 8 to 9 inches long with a 21 inch wingspan. I have a black cap at the end of a white forehead, yellow bill with black tip. I have a handsome gray back and white undersides. Our Photo Albums  Even as a young bird, I was a good fisherman  Baby Picture  My Favorite Foods  Minnows Carp Loaches Things That Scare Me or Even Worst Try to Eat Me!  Dogs, Cats, Skunks & Foxes Crows & Gulls Careless Humans with Jeeps, Kites, and Big Feet! Want to Learn More? www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/leasttern.pdf www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i0740id.html http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/leasttern.pdfhttp://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i0740id.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1
 
Its All About Me! Hello, my name is Lester. I love Stone Harbor’s point as much as you do. I like to hang out with my friend Pip and his fellow piping plovers. I, like my friend Skyy, fish for dinner by flying low over the ocean plunging head long into the ocean to catch a fish. Sometimes I’ll just fly low above the surface and catch a fish! It’s all good! I’ll find a mate this summer and court her near the site I selected to build my nest. I’ll court her with some brilliant ariel displays of my flying skills. As you see me in the photo about I’m giving my new mate a fish. She’s pretty cute, isn’t she? We’ll make a depression in the sand where she will lay two or three eggs. I have the same problems as Pip with my nest, often people step on the eggs or a high tide can wash it all away. It takes about three weeks for the chicks to hatch and I’ll bring them small fish to eat all day long! As the chicks get older they will stand by the waters edge waiting for me and my mate to bring them fish. My mate and children will migrate with me. Just as your family travels home from their Stone Harbor vacation. Although our trip is probably longer as we return to Mexico or South America. I’m a New Jersey Endangered Species so I need a little extra attention from you! Lester I nest at the Point