a new breeder for the bay?

Things have come to the point where, at least in recent days, Forster's Terns are more common on Weesuck Creek than Common or Least. For starters, their calls are noticeably different from the Common Tern and generally come in single syllables (the Common Tern usually says 'keee-eer' in two notes). This makes it easy to tell when they're flying up the creek. This morning, right after the rain, it was even easier because there were several Forster's in several plumages perched on top of a boat and on dock pilings at Aldrich Boat Yard (just north of us) and fishing nearby. These included a bird or two in adult breeding plumage (yellow/orange bill with a black tip, full black cap, light gray mantle with flashing white primaries), adult non-breeding and possible first year birds (both with black face patches) and two perched juveniles with brown backs being attended by an adult with a fish.

I have never seen juveniles in such fresh plumage before and I have the idea that it does not last long, making it clear that these were very young birds indeed. The presence of fledglings with brown backs together with adults still in breeding plumage suggests very strongly that Forster's Terns are breeding in the area, mostly likely on the other side of the bay. In recent years we have been seeing adults and young birds that come up from the west and south in late summer but these post-breeding birds have already lost both their black caps (the adults) and brown backs (the youngsters).

Have Forster's Terns been formally confirmed as breeders on the East End? They are very likely breeding at Cupsogue on Moriches Bay and I suppose these flying young (possibly only fledged a few days) could have come over from there. I suspect that it is more likely that they are from the south side of Shinnecock where there are many tern-nesting islands. In any case, Forster's is the most southerly in range of all our medium-sized terns and its range expansion north (and, on LI, to the northeast) is yet another symptom of climate change!

A striking visitation of the morning: an adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron running up and down on our neighbor's dock just outside the mouth of our pond. The tide was pretty high but I am not sure what our friend was doing on the dock -- perhaps using the hard wood to help mash up a delicious crab (we have Blue, Spider and Fiddler; I've only tasted the first-named but I think the heron dines on all three).

Eric Salzman