Coming in to land

White fronted tern coming in to land.

Beautiful birds and amazingly agile on the wing, this one was using the wind to come in to land on a retaining fence during a very high tide. The damage to the beaches is extensive, with waves cutting right into the dunes. It's obviously been very stormy.

Maori name: Tara
Scientific name: sterna striata

It's the most common tern in NZ and can be seen resting at high tide on the beach. It has webbed feet but is not often seen swimming, apart from bathing preferring to fly.