No excess baggage allowed
Arctic Terns have short legs. Comically short legs. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
They need as little excess baggage as possible for their epic migration. They complete the longest annual migration of any living animal, flying tens of thousands of miles a year from pole to pole. The survival rate of those birds with slightly longer legs was clearly not as high, due to either cold or weight.
They’re fine-tuned survivalists.
More Arctic Terns
First flight I watched an Arctic Tern colony struggle to raise chicks over the last summer. There was plenty of food, although… read more
Fish from a stranger What happens when your colony collapses, your numbers are too low and you can't protect your chicks from predators? What… read more
Feeding time One of the most interesting aspects of bird behaviour is watching parents feeding their young. In this case, I can't… read more
Arctic Tern on the handrail We had only just arrived on Papa Westray when we saw an Arctic Tern on the handrail. They're such handsome… read more
The Arctic Tern and the Lumpfish There are 60 Arctic Terns in this colony but sadly only three surviving chicks. That's better than the collapsed colony… read more
A trip to the Arctics I'm going on a trip to the Arctics. No, not the North Pole, I'm going on a trip to see… read more
Big fish I've loved watching the Arctic Terns in Orkney this summer. They're fascinating. I spent hours watching them come back to… read more
Arctic Terns and Lumpsuckers Watching Arctic Terns pull Lumpsuckers out of the water is a thrill. I love the spray of water around this… read more