Whiskered Tern

Joseph j Halpin (halpinj@Juno.com)
Mon, 10 Aug 1998 18:08:59 -0400


Over the weekend a Whiskered Tern was seen at the pond at Cape May Point
State Park.  The bird was first spotted on Saturday at 15:00 and remained
at the far end of the pond with other terns until about 16:15 when it
flew out to the ocean.  The bird was not seen again until 14:00 Sunday. 
Fortunately, I was at the Goshen CMBO store when a call came in reporting
the sighting.  I took off immediately and managed to get back to the pond
about 15:15.  From the Hawk platform I saw the small group that had
formed at the far end of the pond.  I raced to that spot, got a quick
look through someone’s scope to locate the bird and then had great views
with binos and scope.  

The bird has a black crown that extends below the eye and down the nape. 
The legs are red and the bill is a red-grey color.  The underside is a
dark grey-black mottled color.  The bird is about the size of the
Forster’s Terns it was among.

For the time I was there,  the bird was very cooperative.  It would preen
while in the water, fly up a few feet, land in the water or on a stump
and be it that position for a few minutes before repeating the routine. 
When I left about 15:45, the bird was still in sight.

What I was told was this is the second North American sighting of this
bird.

 A Ruddy Duck was in Lilly Lake and female Redstarts and a Great Crested
Flycatcher were on the Yellow Trail.  No one had seen the Upland
Sandpipers or the Least Bittern, which were my targets.  They told me of
an alternate site for the Uppies, the Cape May Airport.  I tried that but
the lawn there was recently cut very short and no birds were in sight.

I forgot to ask the locals what was going on because the walkway/road
into the fields at the beanery was blocked by a pile of dirt and a
plastic barrier.  I interpreted this to mean that the owner did not want
birders going into the field.

Incidentally, the reason I was at the Goshen CMBO store was to buy the
Wahl/Paulson book on birding in Washington state.  It turns out they do
not carry that book.  Where is another source for this book?  Thanks

Joe Halpin
Silver Spring, MD
email: halpinj @juno.com

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