Date: 8/8/26 7:05 pm From: Lola Ross <lolabones...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Royal Tern?
Hi all,
Brian Scanlon and I looked at a lot of terns on 21st Beach on Thursday,
August 6 (nice meeting you and birding with you, Brian!). We found several
candidates for the ROTE that had been spotted the day before, but we kept
eliminating them as young ELTEs. However, going back through my photos
today, there were a few birds that gave me pause, none more than this one.
I’m talking about the one with open wings, landing in front of the CATE. I
may be off, but to me it looks like there are a couple of good markers for
ROTE, based on what I can find in Sibley, Merlin, and elsewhere online.
1. The darkness of the bill for what is clearly a juvenile/immature bird.
2. The gonydeal angle on the bill looks (to my eye) like it is more forward
on the bill, closer to ⅔ of the way away from the base, which would be a
possible indicator for ROTE.
3. The “obvious dark bars,” as Sibley says, on the wings.
However, I know I am no expert, and I would appreciate a weigh-in before I
add it to my eBird checklist for that outing. I don't want to rely on
Merlin Photo ID (which also says this is a ROTE).
