After 30 loaves of squash bread and 9 quarts of minestrone for the freezer not to mention several meals, I am ready to take a break. This is just from two days! I only planted three hills. The food pantry I donate to is only open on Wednesdays but this method has worked in the past. We’ll see how many people still cook.
Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus) Photo courtesy of Valerie Gebert
Yesterday we had the opportunity to see this rare visitor from southern waters in Connecticut, only the second record sighting of a Bridled Tern here. The bird was sighted about 10 days ago on Falkner Island which is under conservation as a portion of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge.
Falkner Island a/k/a Faulkner’s Island. The island has been drastically reduced in size by erosion, reducing the size of the Roseate Tern nesting area available. It was estimated at 8 acres in 1639 and reduced to 2.87 acres by 1987. Hurricane Sandy and other storms have done even more damage and the Army Corps of Engineers have reinforced the eastern boundary in an attempt to slow the damage.
Andy Griswold took a day off from work to take his boat out to try and see it and we were lucky enough to get seats. We waited 2.5 hours before the bird made its appearance. It was a life bird for all of us. During the wait we constantly scanned the rocks, enjoying the interactions between the parents and chicks of the many terns that nest there. Most were Common Terns, a few the endangered Roseate terns (the island hosts the largest breeding colony in the State) and a couple of Black Terns were sighted as well.
Just a few of the thousands of terns coming and going around us. What a cacophony!
Finally Andy spotted it and we watched delighted for 16 minutes as it perched, flew and was chased by the Common Terns.
A Naturalist's Table 