Least Tern

In the spring I had noticed a very small, and very cute little tern-like bird, actually it was a whole colony of these cute little birds, all congregating in one area of the beach. They were only about 8 inches beak to tail and very slender. Most striking to me besides their matching yellowish-orange colored beaks and legs, was the little black cap they wore which covered the tops of their head and nape of their neck but also connected with the black eye patches leaving a very distinctive white triangle on their white foreheads and faces. I'd never seen anything like them and was anxious to get home to my computer and my birding book to find out what they were.

What I discovered was an endangered species called the Least Tern, the smallest of the tern family. They were endangered for a couple of reasons. One is that they make their nests right on the sand, and their tiny eggs are in a very hazardous position when human population walks the beaches or during high tides. Also, horrifying as it seems nowadays, these darling little birds with their cute faces were once prized for being on display on ladies' hats. Back in the late 1800s and again in the 1930s it was fashionable to wear stuffed birds on your hat. I'm certainly glad it's a fashion that hasn't repeated itself. However, that fashion statement decimated the Least Tern population.

I had a difficult time taking pictures of these little guys because they were very shy (though quite raucous) and would take flight when I got close. I enjoyed watching them dive for tiny fish, protect their eggs and finally help their hatchlings. After about 8 weeks they were gone but hopefully they will return to this corner of the coast again next year. I only have two photos to share with you, but Cornell University's website at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Least_Tern.html is a good place to start if you want more information.