Common terns Kapiti Coast

Bird sighting information. Use this forum to report bird sightings (especially rare and unusual birds), census and field count results, and trip reports. Messages posted to this forum will also be sent as a plain text email to the BIRDING-NZ newsgroup.
igor
Posts: 165
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:59 pm

Common terns Kapiti Coast

Postby igor » Sat Mar 11, 2023 8:42 pm

The common terns are still about and I saw four today. One (immature) at Plimmerton and three at Waikanae (another immature but with more pronounced carpel bar and two adults in differing stages of starting to develop breeding plumage). Record shots of the three Waikanae birds below. Little tern and a couple of black-fronted also present.
IMG_20230311_195332.jpg
IMG_20230311_195332.jpg (435.2 KiB) Viewed 750 times
IMG_20230311_195222.jpg
IMG_20230311_195222.jpg (473.11 KiB) Viewed 750 times
IMG_20230311_195112.jpg
IMG_20230311_195112.jpg (189.25 KiB) Viewed 750 times
User avatar
Michael Szabo
Posts: 2533
Joined: Sun May 08, 2011 12:30 pm
Contact:

Re: Common terns Kapiti Coast

Postby Michael Szabo » Sun Mar 12, 2023 7:39 am

Nice finds and good to see that 2 of them look to be coming into breeding plumage.

The bird in your second photos looks to have a reddish bill - if so, could it be the nominate subspecies hirundo?
'Birds New Zealand' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Birdsnewzealand
Alan Tennyson
Posts: 252
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:54 pm

Re: Common terns Kapiti Coast

Postby Alan Tennyson » Sun Mar 12, 2023 10:48 pm

1 immature common tern at Waikanae today - probably a bird that Igor saw there yesterday (it looked like the one in the 3rd photo).
georgie
Posts: 43
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:20 pm
Location: Ōtautahi Christchurch

Re: Common terns Kapiti Coast

Postby georgie » Tue Mar 14, 2023 4:03 pm

Imm common tern seen again today at Waikanae spit, record shots included. Little tern also present.
16B76FE6-F2E4-4A2B-BF1E-2B0EDA24BE69.jpeg
16B76FE6-F2E4-4A2B-BF1E-2B0EDA24BE69.jpeg (271.54 KiB) Viewed 523 times
1E6AA02E-30B9-41A7-9C4F-748CE8F831DC.jpeg
1E6AA02E-30B9-41A7-9C4F-748CE8F831DC.jpeg (384.53 KiB) Viewed 523 times
A79465F2-98D9-4E1E-BDC4-E8312F1A94D3.jpeg
A79465F2-98D9-4E1E-BDC4-E8312F1A94D3.jpeg (354.21 KiB) Viewed 523 times

Return to “Bird Sightings and Alerts”