Tern on North Carolina Pier

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  CheeseChameleon1945

• 16 Nov 2020

Not have had much luck before with tern IDs, but maybe sandwhich tern?

 

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  Breckenridge

• 16 Nov 2020

@CheeseChameleon2007 I'm not sure. It doesn't have the lighter tip on its bill.

 

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  CheeseChameleon1945

• 16 Nov 2020

@Breckenridge Yes, I was uncertain about that as well.

 

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  CheeseChameleon1945

• 16 Nov 2020

White fronted tern? The patterns aren't entirely right, are they?

 

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  Breckenridge

• 16 Nov 2020

@CheeseChameleon2007 White-fronted terns are native to Australia and New Zealand, so I don't think it is that either. Their winter plumage all being similar certainly doesn't help towards ID.

 

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  CheeseChameleon1945

• 16 Nov 2020

@Breckenridge Yes, terns are for some reason the hardest birds to identify.

 

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  birdsandbats

• 16 Nov 2020

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo).

 

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  birdsandbats

• 16 Nov 2020

@CheeseChameleon2007 No, that's gulls.

 

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  CheeseChameleon1945

• 16 Nov 2020

@birdsandbats Maybe for you it is, but terns are just so difficult. And you know whats funny, I even considered common tern and looked at several images, and they didn't match up. I searched for different season plumage and age ranges and none of them wholly matched up.

 

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  birdsandbats

• 16 Nov 2020

@CheeseChameleon2007 This is the adult non-breeding plumage.