Marchirp day 22: migration. Arctic Terns have the longest migration of any animal. They go from one end off the earth to the other, always chasing summer.
[Image ID: drawing of an arctic tern, a white bird with black feathers on the top of its head and a sharp orange beak, flying across a partly cloudy sky. End ID]
Map by Andreas Trepte from birdnote.org
[Image ID: map of an arctic terns migration. Arrows trail from the arctic circle, to the Antarctic circle and back. End ID]
I took this very silly Plover (Tern!) footage while on break from doing some video work for WE CAN (Women’s Empowerment through Cape Area Networking). I support what they’re doing, obviously, but I found these Piping Plovers (Terns!) way more interesting than whatever was going on at the fundraiser.
I want all of Cape Cod’s wildlife to thrive despite the polluters’ best efforts to the contrary. Also, I’m no bird expert, so I’d feel really stupid if these weren’t actually Piping Plovers in the video. (They're Terns apparently! AGH)
From top clockwise - Tākapu (Australasian Gannet), Tarāpunga (Red-billed Gull), Tara Iti (Fairy Tern), Tūturiwhatu (New Zealand Dotterel), Tōrea pango (Variable Oystercatcher). These are all shorebird species seen on beaches from my part of the country.
Can't remember when I did this, probably Nov 2018. Can't remember what I called it either. I painted them on little craft canvases and then glued them together with popsicle sticks
"Most terns are white with dark caps, and have forked tails. The Brown Noddy, like an anti-tern, is dark with a white cap, and has a wedge-shaped tail. At sea it flies low, with deep wingbeats; when perched, it has a solemn and lethargic look. Widespread in tropical oceans, including around Hawaii. Birders know this species mostly from its colony at the Dry Tortugas, Florida, where it nests alongside the much noisier and more numerous Sooty Tern."