Swift and graceful flyers, Common Terns are a delight to watch as they skim over the waters of Presque Isle or hover, then dive for a fish dinner.
These fast flyers can often be mistaken for gulls if one doesn’t have a keen eye. They, like gulls, have predominantly white or gray bodies, but if examined more closely, their crisp black caps and bright orange-red bills and legs set them apart from the more plentiful Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls that inhabit the park. They look smaller too, with a wing span of approximately 30 inches (Gull wingspans are 48-58 inches). Two features that also set them apart are their forked tails which are easy to see when they fly, and wings tips that are more pointed than gulls.
Their name suggests that these birds are, well, common, or abundant. Common Terns are indeed the most widespread tern species in North America, but the species’ conservation status is “common but in steep decline.” Here in Pennsylvania, that status is even more fragile as Common Terns are listed as endangered, since the only area in the state that has appropriate habitat for nesting is Presque Isle State Park…