The beach in front of the surf lifesaving club at Woorim on Bribie Island, SE
Queensland, is currently hosting a variety of terns.
Common Terns in numbers of at least 140 have been in residence for a little
while in company with the ubiquitous Greater Crested Terns, at least some of
which appear to be “from the south”.
The Common Terns are displaying a variety of leg and bill colours.
Of particular interest are the Little Terns now coming in to join the flock.
Where the Little Terns are coming from is a bit of a mystery.
I sighted one Little Tern in breeding plumage (black cap and bright yellow bill
with a black tip) in the gull/tern flock a couple of days ago but haven’t been
able to find it again. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me at the
time of the sighting and the flock had been dispersed by the time I returned
properly camera-equipped.
Today (Monday 22nd July) there were at least 14 Little Terns at Woorim.
Also in the flock this morning was a solitary non-breeding Lesser Crested Tern.
This presented a good opportunity to compare the bill colours of a non-breeding
Lesser Crested Tern and the various Greater Crested Terns, particularly the
brighter bills of the “southern” Greater Crested Terns.
Small numbers of Gull-billed Terns can also be seen at times cruising up and
down the surf beach in that area.
The Bribie Island Surf Lifesaving Club is at F 14 on map 54 of the Brisbane
(Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast) UBD Refidex.
The terns and gulls tend to congregate in front of the parking area at the end
of First Avenue but can disperse south of that point for up to a kilometre.
A warning for bird-photographers. You should take your tolerance tablets before
attempting to photograph the gulls and terns along that stretch of beach. This
is a high human-traffic area and the birds are constantly being put to flight.
The Little Terns are particularly nervous.
Bob Inglis
Sandstone Point
Qld
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