Application of a novel banding technique and photographic recapture to describe plumage development and behaviour of juvenile Fairy Terns

Abstract

The Australian Fairy Tern Sternula nereis nereis is a seabird that breeds along the coast and whose small populations are dispersed over vast stretches of the Australian seaboard and nearshore islands. In recent years, citizen science programs have been developed to bolster monitoring efforts to better understand breeding success and identify site threat profiles. The development of protocols that facilitate the collection of consistent measurements is important for long-term monitoring of this threatened (Vulnerable) species. This study describes plumage development and age-related behaviour in juvenile Australian Fairy Terns using direct observations and photographic recapture of individually marked birds. This information may be used as the basis for the development of a field ageing guide, enabling the collection of standardised information on colony demographics and juvenile development. A temporary colour-banding study was trialled by painting nail varnish onto 15 Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme (ABBBS) incoloy bands, avoiding the need to band nestlings with additional readable or PVC colour-bands. The varnish remained intact, albeit chipped, on four surviving birds that were resighted ≤80 days after banding, enabling the identification of individuals away from the colony site, without the need for recapture. The temporary marking of ABBBS bands using nail varnish offered an effective short-term solution for identifying individual juvenile Fairy Terns in the field and for describing plumage changes over a period of c. 3 months.

Drivers of colony failure in a vulnerable coastal seabird, the Australian Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis nereis)

“…sitting adults or the presence of chicks within a nest cup, was the metric used to estimate the total number of nests. In some instances, nests were mapped, allowing colony growth to be tracked over time (Greenwell et al 2021b(Greenwell et al , 2021c(Greenwell et al , 2021d. The total numbers of nests and/or chicks were recorded on most visits, noting that some colonies were observed intensively as part of other research projects (Greenwell et al 2021b(Greenwell et al , 2021c(Greenwell et al , 2021d.…”

“…Documenting the outcomes of breeding success is a key objective under the Recovery Plan to better target management actions (Commonwealth of Australia 2020). Engaging local observers, including commercial operators, and/or expanding the opportunities for citizen science programs may effectively support monitoring and management efforts (Tulloch et al 2013;Greenwell et al 2021c).…”