The Migration of the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) in the Western Hemisphere

Austin, O. L.

doi:10.2307/4510414

Cited by 23 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Most terns that staged in Nantucket Sound appeared to depart from the study area from that region, with the exception of one individual that was detected flying from Nantucket Sound to the Gulf of Maine prior to departure. Northern movements of terns from the southern New England region to sites in Gulf of Maine during the postbreeding period has been documented previously for Common Terns (Austin 1953) and Roseate Terns (Shealer and Kress 1994). We did not document movements of Common Terns from other colonies to Sable Island, but we found some evidence (1 of 28 birds) of a local breeding bird staging there until 10 September.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the postbreeding period (July and August), Common and Roseate Terns from nesting colonies in the western North Atlantic may disperse hundreds of kilometers to staging areas throughout the region (Austin 1953, Shealer and Kress 1994, Trull et al 1999. We found that, from late July to early September, our tagged Common Terns from northern colonies dispersed up to 800 km to staging areas in Nantucket Sound, and that their mean travel time (< 1 week) was shorter relative to the dispersal of Roseate Terns across similar distances reported by other studies (mean travel time > 3 weeks; Shealer and Kress 1994).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Postbreeding dispersal and staging of Common and Arctic Terns throughout the western North Atlantic

Loring¹,

Ronconi²,

Welch³

et al. 2017

ACE

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ABSTRACT. In the western North Atlantic, Common (Sterna hirundo) and Arctic (S. paradisaea) Terns are sympatric at breeding colonies but show divergent migration strategies to coastal areas of South America and pelagic regions of the Antarctic, respectively. During 2013, we studied postbreeding movements of adult Common (n = 130) and Arctic (n = 52) Terns from four breeding colonies in the eastern USA and Canada using digital very high frequency (VHF) transmitters and an array of 62 automated radio telemetry towers. Relative to hatch dates at respective colonies, Arctic Terns departed breeding sites an average of eight days later than Common Terns. Common Terns were detected during the postbreeding period by coastal towers upward of 850 km south of their original nesting sites. The telemetry array detected postbreeding movements of Arctic Terns from the Petit Manan Island colony in the Gulf of Maine as they traveled eastward past Nova Scotia, Canada, mostly during the night. Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts, USA was identified as an important staging area for Common Terns from all colonies, whereby 26% of 53 tagged Common Terns from colonies in the Gulf of Maine and Canada were detected for up to three weeks. Common Terns typically arrived at Nantucket Sound within 2 h of sunset, 2 to 10 days after their last detection at Gulf of Maine and Canadian colonies, suggesting rapid postbreeding dispersal. Postbreeding dispersal of Arctic Terns was poorly documented with the telemetry array, suggesting that this species is not using coastal sites for staging, and is instead departing directly from colonies to offshore staging areas prior to long-distance migrations. We conclude that digital VHF telemetry is a useful method for monitoring regional movements of Common Terns, but additional offshore receiving stations are needed to effectively monitor movements of Arctic Terns away from their nesting colonies. Le réseau de télémétrie a détecté les déplacements postnuptiaux de Sternes arctiques de leur colonie de l'île Petit Manan, dans le golfe du Maine, au moment où elles se déplaçaient vers l'est au large de la Nouvelle-Écosse, Canada, le plus souvent durant la nuit. Le détroit de Nantucket, Massachusetts, É.-U., a été identifié comme halte migratoire importante pour les Sternes pierregarins en provenance de chaque colonie : 26 % des 53 Sternes pierregarins suivies dans les colonies du golfe du Maine et du Canada y ont été détectées pour une période allant jusqu'à 3 semaines. Les Sternes pierregarins arrivaient généralement dans le détroit de Nantucket dans les deux heures précédant le coucher du soleil, de 2 à 10 jours après leur dernière détection aux colonies du golfe du Maine et du Canada, indiquant une dispersion postnuptiale rapide. La dispersion postnuptiale des Sternes arctiques n'a été que très peu captée par le réseau de télémétrie, ce qui laisse croire que cette espèce n'utilise pas de sites côtiers comme haltes migratoires, mais quitte plutôt les colonies pour se rendre directement à des haltes au large, avant ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postbreeding dispersal and staging of Common and Arctic Terns throughout the western North Atlantic

Loring¹,

Ronconi²,

Welch³

et al. 2017

ACE

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“…Median ''wintering'' locations, defined as December 15-March 31, were spread throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Central America and along the northwest coast of South America. However, most birds in our study spent the majority of the nonbreeding season along the coast of Peru, which was previously identified as an important wintering location for Great Lakes Common Terns, based on observations of color-banded birds (Austin 1953, Blokpoel et al 1987. The high degree of intermixing of birds from each of the 4 inland lakes suggests high population spread and weak connectivity among inland colonies; high intermixing was also proposed recently, based on band encounter data, at least for birds from the Great Lakes region (Culp et al 2017).…”

Section: Wintering Locations and Migratory Connectivitymentioning

confidence: 97%

Migratory routes and wintering locations of declining inland North American Common Terns

Bracey

Lisovski

Moore

et al. 2018

The Auk

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“…The metals found in the feathers of breeding adults were deposited during the spring molt and hence reflect the birds' exposure in the winter quarters in South America (Burger et al 1992b). Band recoveries indicate that adults of different ages winter in the same areas (Austin 1953; unpublished data of the authors), and hence would be expected to have similar exposures. Young birds, however, do not migrate north until age 2 or 3 (Austin 1953;Langham 1971).…”

Section: Age-related Changes Among Adultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Band recoveries indicate that adults of different ages winter in the same areas (Austin 1953; unpublished data of the authors), and hence would be expected to have similar exposures. Young birds, however, do not migrate north until age 2 or 3 (Austin 1953;Langham 1971). Hence, breeders aged 2-3 would have had more exposure in the winter quarters and less exposure in the breeding area than older breeders.…”

Section: Age-related Changes Among Adultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heavy metal and selenium levels in feathers of known-aged common terns (Sterna hirundo)

Burger

Nisbet²,

Gochfeld

1994

Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.

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Concentrations of five metals and selenium in the breast feathers of known-aged common terns (Sterna hirundo) were examined at a breeding colony in Massachusetts, USA. Concentrations of selenium, chromium, and manganese increased significantly with age among adults (2-21 years old), whereas concentrations of mercury, cadmium, and lead did not. Concentrations of cadmium, selenium and manganese were lower in fledglings (20-23 days old) than in adults. Concentrations of mercury, however, were higher in fledglings than in adults, and concentrations of chromium were higher in fledglings than in young adults, probably reflecting higher exposure to these metals in the breeding area than in the winter quarters where the adults' feathers were grown. At least for mercury, excretion of metals into the feathers at each molt was an efficient protective mechanism, preventing continued accumulation in the body with increasing age.

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The Migration of the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) in the Western Hemisphere

Cited by 23 publications

References 1 publication

Postbreeding dispersal and staging of Common and Arctic Terns throughout the western North Atlantic

Postbreeding dispersal and staging of Common and Arctic Terns throughout the western North Atlantic

Migratory routes and wintering locations of declining inland North American Common Terns

Heavy metal and selenium levels in feathers of known-aged common terns (Sterna hirundo)

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