I had a tern on the north side of Myers Point, Lansing, Tompkins County this morning that might have been an ARCTIC TERN. I have photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nlytDEitT_i55UkdYGmeQNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink, and the following images.
The bird was foraging back and forth in the bay north of Salt Point, south to the mouth of Salmon Creek. I first saw it there and lost it going north. Later I saw it moving along the shore of the bay, near docks on the north side. I went to Salt Point and watched it fly back and forth down the shoreline until I lost it on a northward move. I originally thought it was a Forster's Tern because the upper surfaces of the wings were so clean and white. I could see flashes of white(er) in the wingtips on occasion when the bird banked, and never saw any dark in the inner section of the primaries, as I would expect with Common Tern. There was a thin solid dark trailing edge to the outermost primaries that did not extend to the innermost or the secondaries. Unlike Forster's Tern, however, the belly was darker than the rump and face. The white rump extended onto the tail, not contrasting with it, which in the photos shows clearly darker outer edges. In the dim light I could not confirm a dark tip to the bill, but it did not look long or orange-based like a Forster's. I jokingly told myself to stop thinking Common vs. Forster's and start trying to make it into an Arctic Tern. But, I didn't seriously consider the idea until I showed Jay the photos. Any Sterna tern is unusual in the county this time of year, so I hope others will go out and look for this bird. Kevin Kevin J. McGowan, Ph.D. Project Manager Distance Learning in Bird Biology Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu> 607-254-2452 Do you know about our other distance-learning opportunities? Visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/courses<http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=19023cad4e&e=d3c0712a98> and learn about our comprehensive Home Study Course in Bird Biology, our online course Investigating Behavior: Courtship and Rivalry in Birds<http://cornell.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=d69183921c&e=d3c0712a98>, our Be A Better Birder tutorials<http://cornell.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=9969512772&e=d3c0712a98>, and our series of webinars<http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=946e880490&e=d3c0712a98>. Purchase the webinars here<http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=d5d44c79f0&e=d3c0712a98>. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
