LITTLE TERN
The smallest tern, about thrush sized, this is a fast and furious bird. Apart from its size, its bright yellow beak with a black tip is a giveaway. It has a black cap with a white forehead and orangey-yellow legs. When fishing, they hover low over the surface with fast wing beats, sometimes prolonged, as if they cannot make their mind up, and then they hit the water, with a smack, throwing up a small splash of spray. They often repeat their dives more quickly than other terns.
The little terns’ status is declining as climate change and tourism impact on their nesting sites. They nest on the edge of the waves on a beach, and so rises in sea levels, high tides or even a gale, can wash their eggs or chicks away. The terns prefer sandy or pebbly beaches, just as we do, and so increased human activity is threatening their breeding areas. It is the southern beaches on Kefalonia that I have seen them on.
