Del, Ticks are abundant in some tropical seabird colonies. They are thick in
the Herald Cays, Coral Sea where a small number of Bridled Terns breed.
Presumably als the case on many GBR islands, though I've not seen them
personally. Yes, ticks are impervious to salt water it seems, though thery
possibly prefer the birds that don't get fully emersed, like bridled terns and
frigatebirds, although they can be thick in shearwater burrows too. Not sure
they are paralysis ticks, not aware of any ID on the subject however. Why do
you think the ticks killed the tern?
David James,
in Jakarta
==============================
________________________________
From: Del Richards <>
To:
Sent: Wednesday, 11 January 2012 11:05 AM
Subject: Bridled Tern killed by ticks.
During the week prior to Christmas a Bridled Tern was picked up in a back
yard at Newell Beach just north of Mossman, no longer able to fly.
On close examination three large paralysis (?) ticks were found on it's
legs. Incredibly the largest of the ticks was the size of a five cent piece and
the other two smaller.
After discussing the incident with a local vet the ticks because of their
make up would have been impervious to any effect by the extreme saline
environment of Barrier Reef waters. It would also seem that ticks may be a
common problem for seabirds in some regions.
The tern died the same night.
What is the experience of seabird researchers?
Del. Richards, Fine Feather Tours, Mossman, NQ.
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