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From: WADE DOAK
_: 5
Date: 13-06-10
Time: 11:47
GREY TERNLET COLONY AT THE SUGARLOAF
[ QUESTION: ARE THEY NESTING AND RAISING YOUNG THERE? I seek feedback. Early spring may reveal...Wade]
Near the Poor Knights Islands grey ternlets roost on ledges that riddle the sunny northwest cliff wall of the Sugarloaf. They flutter out briefly and settle back in their refuges as our vessel 'Perfect Day' hovers nearby on a calm autumn afternoon. These delicate little seabirds remind me of doves. This is the only colony I know of in the area and they are quite rare in New Zealand. There are reports of them at the Three Kings and on certain islands offshore in the Bay of Plenty.
From research I learnt the grey ternlet or grey noddy (Procelsterna cerulea) is 28 centimetres long and weighs 75 grams. It is blue-grey, with a paler body that becomes progressively darker along the wings. Its short tail is deeply forked. There is a small black patch in front of the eye, and it has a lightly curved, slender black bill. It has a soft, purring call.
There is no visual difference between males and females, or in breeding plumage. Juveniles have a brownish upper body and crown of head. Nests are in hollows and pockets on cliff faces and consist of a few shreds of seaweed or grass.
Grey ternlets are found in the tropical and subtropical Pacific from mainland Australia, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and east to Hawaii and certain islands off the coast of Chile.
About 17,000 pairs breed on the Kermadecs Islands. Some years they also breed on Three Kings and other islands east of the northern North Island: Maori Rocks at the Mokohinaus and Volkner Rocks near White Island.
Grey ternlets begin to breed in August and this continues until February. Usually one egg is laid and both parents incubate it for 32 days. It takes 37 days for their chick to fledge. The parents feed it for some further time with regurgitated food.
They are not migratory birds. When feeding at sea around upwelling currents they flutter in flock above the water, dropping down to seize shrimp, krill, small squid or fish. Occasionally they may settle on the water to roost.
Their flight is described as graceful and floating, and they perform intricate courtship displays, with one bird hovering and weaving across the other’s path.
The noddies are tropical or subtropical members of the tern and gull family. The term noddy may refer to their courtship exchanges but also meant simpleton. When Darwin first met them on the famed Beagle cruise of 1831-36 he wrote: “The noddies, as their name expresses, are silly little creatures.” With all due respect to the great scientist, I just hope our species lasts as long as the noddies! Grey terns are a threatened species in Australia and endangered by intensive fishing pressures. Their choice of the Sugarloaf for a colony protected by its marine reserve status, was not too silly! In the days when I owned a fast dive boat we could reach the Sugarloaf over calm water in 12 minutes from Tutukaka entrance. So I count grey ternlets as my neighbours.
Last changed: 23-Jul-2011