Where do Sandwich terns go in winter?

What does a sandwich tern bird look like?

The sandwich tern is whitish-grey above and white below, with a large black cap (the forehead becomes white in winter) and a shaggy, black crest. It has short, black legs, and a black bill with a yellow tip. It has a short tail without ‘streamers’ (long feathers extending past the main tail).

Where do terns live in winter?

Found throughout the world, they are summer visitors to Europe, spending the winter off the coast of Africa or further afield in the Southern Hemisphere. The Arctic Tern makes the longest journey each year, with some individuals migrating 11,000 miles or more (as the crow flies) each way from Arctic to Antarctic.

How do Sandwich tern colonies survive?

Many of the important sandwich tern colonies in the UK survive because they are on nature reserves specifically looked after for their wildlife value. The Wildlife Trusts manage many coastal nature reserves for the benefit of the wildlife they support.

Where can I find a sandwich tern?

This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season. There are colonies of Sandwich terns scattered around the UK coasts including the North Norfolk coast; Minsmere, Suffolk and Dungeness, Kent. * This map is intended as a guide.

What does a sooty tern look like?

Sooty Tern: This medium-sized tern has long wings, a deeply forked tail, black crown, nape, and upperparts and a broad triangular white forehead patch. The underparts are white; upper tail is black with white outer edges.

Where did the Sandwich tern get its name?

Named after Sandwich Bay in Kent, the sandwich tern is one of three birds to be named after Kent – the others are the Kentish Plover and the Dartford Warbler. How people can help. Many of the important sandwich tern colonies in the UK survive because they are on nature reserves specifically looked after for their wildlife value.

Where do terns go in the winter?

After the breeding season, the terns migrate south to spend their winter along the coasts of the tropics and the southern hemisphere in areas including Africa, South America and South-east Asia. They have one of the longest migrations of all birds, with an average round trip of 35,000km each year.

What are the characteristics of terns?

This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season. The common tern breeds along coasts with shingle beaches and rocky islands, on rivers with shingle bars, and at inland gravel pits and reservoirs, feeding along rivers and over freshwater.

What is a sandwich tern?

The Sandwich tern is a very white tern, with a black cap on its head, a long black bill with a yellow tip and short black legs. In flight it shows grey wedges on its wings tips and it has a short forked tail. In the UK, many of the important colonies survive because they are on nature reserves. Fish such as sandeels, sprats and whiting.

How are we protecting our terns?

Climate change and invasive species threaten our terns, but work is ongoing to protect them and ensure their breeding success. There are five species of tern which breed in Ireland, all in the genus Sterna.

Are terns on the Red List UK?

Classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015). The sandwich tern is a relatively large tern, which breeds in colonies on sand and shingle beaches, islands and spits. Sandwich terns feed on fish, such as sandeels, sprats and whiting, which they catch by diving into the water.

What kind of Bill does a sandwich tern have?

Cool Facts The two subspecies of Sandwich Tern breeding in North America and Eurasia have black bills with yellow tips. A third subspecies known at the “Cayenne Tern” is found in the southern Caribbean and the Atlantic Coast of South America. It has an all yellow bill.

How do sooty terns feed?

They feed while flying, scooping up their prey from the surface of the ocean, sometimes capturing fish that other predators have chased out of the water. The Sooty tern inhabits the subtropical and tropical waters of the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australia. They leave their breeding colonies when the chicks fledge.

What does a gray backed tern look like?

Gray-backed Tern: This medium-sized bird is mainly dark above and white below. It has long pointed wings and a long forked tail. It has a black cap, nape and a line through the eye to the base of the bill, white front, and white outer tail feathers. It has a black, dagger-like bill and short black legs. The diet includes tiny fish and squid.

What does the least tern look like?

Least Tern: This small tern has slate-gray upperparts, white underparts; crown and nape are black, and the forehead is white. Black leading edge of outer wing is conspicuous in flight. The tail is forked, and the bill and feet are yellow. It feeds on small fish and invertebrates. It has a fast smooth flight with rapid wing beats.

Where do our birds go in the winter?

Five thousand kilometres away, our birds mainly stay on the coast in winter, fishing in the shallow, sheltered water just offshore, or along large rivers. They compete with African fish eagles in some areas.

How can you tell the difference between common and Arctic terns?

Common terns and arctic terns can be very difficult to tell apart. The common tern is whiter below, has shorter tail streamers, and has a longer bill, which is orangey-red with a black tip. It is silvery-grey above, with a black cap and short, red legs.

How long is The wingspan of a tern?

However, their wingspan is over twice the birds’ body length on average, at 30-33 inches. The arctic tern’s main characteristics are its enormous, easily-distinguishable wings and long tails. Their tails are V-shaped with extensive streamer feathers in adults, and their wings are long and thin.

What does a sandwich tern eat?

Sandwich terns feed on fish, such as sandeels, sprats and whiting, which they catch by diving into the water. The sandwich tern is whitish-grey above and white below, with a large black cap (the forehead becomes white in winter) and a shaggy, black crest.

What is the difference between a sandwich tern and royal tern?

The Sandwich Tern is a sleek, medium-sized tern with a ragged black crest and a gleaming black bill with a sharp yellow tip. It’s smaller and slimmer than a Royal Tern, a species it often nests alongside in busy, shrieking colonies along the barrier islands of the southeastern U.S.

Where do terns live in the UK?

Classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015). The common tern is a medium-sized tern and the one you are most likely to see inland, as well as at the coast. Common terns breed on shingle beaches, rocky islands and inland on the gravelly shores of lakes and rivers.

What can we do to help endangered birds?

Support Bird Conservation Programs: Supporting conservation programs and projects is the most immediate way to help reduce the risk of bird extinctions. Many zoos and aviaries work with captive breeding programs for endangered birds, and visiting the facilities helps fund their work.

How can birders help preserve habitats?

Other ways to preserve habitats include visiting wildlife refuges, purchasing duck stamps, helping with beach or river cleanups and encouraging native landscaping in parks and other cultivated areas. Be a Responsible Birder: First and foremost, birders can always minimize extinction risks by putting birds’ best interests above their own.