Fairy Tern and Tropicbird Progress 6

When I wasn’t looking at Falcons and Bee-eaters I managed on the afternoon of the 24th November to get round and check on the terns and tropicbirds I have been following on the blog over the previous weeks.

Fairy Terns:

• The second chick has now left its perch, I checked every day during my stay and didn’t see it. There had been very strong winds the week before (an event doubtless also related to the influx of bee-eaters and Falcons reported in the post below) and it is likely that these drove the bird from its perch which was quite exposed and near the beach. The bird was well-developed however and I am optimistic that it was sufficiently independent to survive.
• Fred was still on his perch and has further grown with good plumage development now evident and tail feathers developing. I have added “his” latest photo to the development timeline in the sidebar at the bottom of this page.
• Interestingly on an adjacent branch on the same tree another adult Fairy tern has commenced incubation.

Tropicbirds:

• Tina is now getting big and her plumage is developing rapidly. She looks very healthy and I have added the latest photo to “her” development timeline at the foot of this page.
• The second ground nest is currently not occupied, but the first is and I am delighted to say that it now also has a newly-hatched chick. This is the second confirmed chick in a ground nest following the rat eradication and reaffirms the good progress being made in the island’s ecosystem rehabilitation.