With another rare, calm day in the air, we decided to spend the morning heading out into the sea! Our objective today was a special one, to head into the home of our most angelic seabirds- the tern.
Some of you may remember our posts from last year (2022/07/29- Tern Ringing: The Quest to find the Unknown and 2022/08/02- Tern Ringing: The Quest Continues…) where we were focusing on ringing and tagging Bridled Terns (see a little insight into some of our results at the bottom of this post!). This year we set out with a slightly different target species: The Black-naped Tern!
The Black-naped Tern is one of the three tern species that breed in Hong Kong (the other two being Bridled and Roseate). Though we have our suspicions about their migratory routes, there are few past studies on actually tracking their routes. This is very important for us to work out to know how and where we can put in conservation management strategies, among other data collected.
We reached the island as the sun had just risen, and it wasn’t long before we were lucky enough to catch three of our target species today! These Black-naped Terns all appeared to be in their 2nd calendar year or older and could very well be breeding birds. Therefore, we swiftly ringed and tagged them, and took some quick photos to study their moults. In all three, we found moult limits in their primaries, and some in the tail.
As the morning wore on, we were also lucky enough to catch the other two breeding tern species here! First up was a gorgeous Roseate Tern! Different from the Black-napeds, this individual showed no moult limits in the wing or tail and was determined to be a 2nd calendar year or older bird!
Finally, our largest of the three species: the Bridled Tern! This individual showed moult limits in the flight feathers and coverts! As aforementioned, we have tagged a few of this species, this year and last year. Below is a summary of the migration route of one of last year’s individuals, showing just how important the South China coast is to these incredible species! What a great morning!
https://www.facebook.com/hkbws/photos/pb.100067867632849.-2207520000./5464936923595635/?type=3
Daily Totals
| Species | Original | Recapture |
| Black-naped Tern | 5 | 0 |
| Bridled Tern | 1 | 0 |
| Roseate Tern | 1 | 0 |
*Please note that all wild birds, their nests, and eggs are highly protected (under Wild Animals Protection Ordinate, Cap. 170) in Hong Kong. It is an offence to wilfully disturb, take, remove, or injure wild birds or their nests/eggs. The actions described here were undertaken by trained professionals holding the necessary licenses and permits issued by the AFCD.*
