Aleutian Tern Onychoprion aleuticus

Aleutian Terns had been reported from the Manning River entrance near Old Bar by Liam Murphy in December 2017. Due to other commitments, I did not have a chance to go and have a look at them before mid-January 2018. Our daughter Christine and Corey Callaghan went on January, 13 and saw and photographed the birds. We have counted at least 15 individuals. The weather was not too good for photography: Cloudy, sprinkles of rain and misty, but I have managed to get some decent shots, which are in this album.

Aleutian Terns breed in coastal areas of southern and western Alaska in a number of locations in Aleutian Islands and in Russia. They are very rare visitors to Australia, where they had been reported only a few times before the discovery this year. These birds are similar to Common Terns for example and may have been overlooked in the past. It will be interesting to follow up whether they re-occur in 2019.

Enjoy and if you like, feel free to provide comments via the Contact page!