Yes - the Australian headquarters of the species is probably Werribee, where seasonally there are tens of thousands, easily the most common bird in the area.
They have a particular liking for hover-hunting over roadside strips of feral rape, which must be very rich in insect life. The birds plunge completely into this. In the below the distinctive profile of the You Yangs can be seen in the background.
From: Martin Butterfield [
Sent: Saturday, 30 September 2017 1:18 PM
To: Con Boekel
Cc: COG List
Subject: Re: FW: [canberrabirds] Whiskered Tern at Kelly's this am - again
The words of HANZAB are interesting. Based on observations from the Northern Territory there is apparently a marked difference between sexes with males eating more fish and females more invertebrates.
During last year's breeding event on the Hoskinstown Plain the Terns were frequently seen flying in flocks over grasshopper ridden paddocks 100+ metres from the waters edge. Given the ephemeral
nature of that marsh, and it not having a direct connection with a permanent water body I doubt greatly if there were any fish in it.
On 30 September 2017 at 13:02, Con Boekel <> wrote:
