Common Tern (flying in to join group)

Description:

Medium-sized tern with a white and black cap. A long and deeply forked tail. Wings are white with dark tips. Bill is dark orange with a black tip. A graceful, black-and-white waterbird, the Common Tern is the most widespread tern in North America. It can be seen plunging from the air into water to catch small fish along rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Habitat:

This was on our first stop at a fishing jetty on our trip through Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, LA. This bird flew in to join other terns, gulls, and a cormorant. The second photo has a heron and black necked stilt emerging from the background reeds on the left. The third photo has a willet in the background.

Notes:

Sabine NWR,about 8 miles south of Hackberry, on State Highway 27, was established in 1937 to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl and other birds. The refuge consists of a basin of wetlands located between the Gulf's beach cheniers (oak ridges)and the coastal prairie, which is one of the most productive and fertile areas of North America. It encompasses 124,511 acres of fresh,intermediate and brackish marshes and is one of the largest estuarine-dependent marine species nurseries in southwest Louisiana. It has also been designated as an "Internationally Important Bird Area" due to the numerous wading, water and marsh birds that utilize it throughout the year.