Hi again with another question,
On Friday at Noosa, SEQ, I photographed a begging juvenile Caspian Tern (CATE) with adult. The juvenile bird has plenty of brown flecks in its plumage, and the bill is orange-red rather than the bright red of normal adults. September is not a month when I expect to see begging CATE. Normally we see the youngsters after they have migrated north with adults from southern Australia following the summer breeding.This juvenile bird wouldn’t be more than 2-3 months old.
I checked HANZAB, which wasn’t all that helpful. It would seem that in northern Australia, CATE breeding can take place at any time. But few examples of breeding locations are given.
Does anyone have any specific knowledge of CATE breeding events and locations which might explain why I would have a juvenile CATE in SEQ right now?
Cheers,
Jill
