Week 35 – Common Tern

 

Common Tern. Photograph by Neil Paprocki.

When I took this picture yesterday, I anticipated an easy ID as I knew Forster’s Terns were the only regular inhabitants of western Utah save Black Terns, which are quite easy to identify (they’re black!). I have relatively little experience with terns as I’ve tended to reside in land-locked areas devoid of most seabirds. Nevertheless, I have always thought terns sleek little seabirds and I was happy to have the chance to watch them again.

Now comes the question: which species of tern is this? Forster’s are the far more common species around west-central Utah where this photograph was taken: the Gunnison Bend Reservoir in Delta, Utah to be exact. However, Forster’s Tern are supposed to acquire their winter plumage by late-August. It already being September, this individual has just started molting as you can see by the white feathers beginning to come in on the crown of the head.

That leaves the possibility of this bird being a Common Tern. Common Terns are far more ‘common’ in the east, but venture further west during migration. They mostly molt after they leave the U.S. They also have redder bills and legs than the more orange Forster’s, which seem to fit this individual better.

I’m always reluctant to ID a rarer species, but my initial impression of Common Tern was seconded by another avian biologist. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Here is another photo to help in the identification. Unfortunately my angles were limited to the underside of the bird.

Common Tern. Photograph by Neil Paprocki.

All of the previous 52-week blog posts can be found at the Wild Lens blog or on Flickr.