Black fronted tern

Black fronted tern (Sterna albostriata) Maori name tarapirohe

More colourful than the white fronted tern with its red/orange beak and feet, this bird is smaller and more flighty.

This was one of a group roosting at high tide, when some people with a dog came by and frightened all the birds into the air. Plucking up my courage I suggested that perhaps it would be good to leash the dog near roosting birds, and I did get a positive reaction which was nice. The people just hadn't thought it through and were sorry about it. You never know what sort of reaction you're going to get - I have tried to talk to people before and got a very negative reaction, so it was nice to meet these people.

the birds are declining with more than half the population in the Upper Waitaki Basin. They are endemic, and the only tern to breed inland. They are carnivorous eating grubs, worms, insects and small fish.

To take the image fast enough I had to put it on iso 800 hence the graininess - can't take them like pooba I'm afraid!