One good TERN deserves another

Happy (belated- stupid internet) Valentine’s Day from Gough Island!! Today’s blog is all about our Terns. It seemed like an apt choice, as Terns are faithful partners and will stay together for life, often returning to the same nest year on year. Although, advances in technology over recent years have uncovered all sorts of scandal that have gone unnoticed previously, both in Terns and other seabirds. If a pair fail to breed, they may well separate at the end of the breeding season, only to return to the same colony with a new partner the following spring. In some species when their partner leaves to fish or find nest material, certain individuals will take the opportunity to sneak off to a neighbour’s nest and initiate a sordid affair. Perhaps not such a happy Valentine’s after all….    

The happy couple; a pair of Antarctic Terns (David Kinchin-Smith)

Terns have been one of my favourite birds since I was small; something I inherited from my Dad. It’s really nice to have a species of Tern new to both of us here on the island, the Antarctic Tern. They are virtually identical to the Arctic Terns we have in the UK, and hearing their familiar screeching as they protect their young from predatory Skuas is a little piece of home in such a foreign place. This particular subspecies only breed on islands within the Tristan da Cunha group.

An adult Antarctic Tern in flight (David Kinchin-Smith)

Antarctic Terns are small but striking birds. With long white tail streamers, slender wings and beautifully graceful flight patterns, they can certainly hold their own in the stunning cacophony of birdlife on this wonderful island.

An adult protecting its egg (David Kinchin-Smith)

There are a lot of unanswered questions about how these Terns live their lives on Gough, but we do know that they return to the island at the start of the summer and have laid their eggs by the end of January. There seems to be quite a lot of variation in the timing of their breeding attempt. This could be because if their first clutch of eggs is eaten, they can lay another clutch and have a second attempt at producing young. Whatever the reason, after an incubation of around 24 days all of the chicks have hatched by now, and the majority have reached fledging age.

A newly hatched chick (Em Witcutt)

Just a few days old; a young Tern chick (Em Witcutt)

A fledgling ready to head out to sea (David Kinchin-Smith)

They will hang around for several weeks however, as the parents will continue to feed them while they learn to look after themselves. After this they head out to sea for the winter, migrating to the coast of South Africa, just like many of the terns I know from home. 

Protective parents... (Em Witcutt)

Em