Thanks for the info, Chris. From about the third week in July on, I saw
numerous juvenile Caspians following adults, up in the Samish/Padilla bay
area. I had wondered if they were nesting locally. I still think they
might be, somewhere, but it could be that they came up from the Columbia.

Interestingly, on two occasions I watched nesting Bald Eagles bringing terns
in to feed their young. I assume these were juveniles, since adult terns
were always in close, noisy attendance. And, it seems unlikely that an
eagle could catch an adult Caspian. Although I watched an eagle fly down
and capture an adult Ring-billed Gull. Pretty maneuverable for such a big
bird.

Eric Kraig
Olympia, WA
kraige at oclc.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Thompson [mailto:THOMPCWT at dfw.wa.gov]
Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 4:56 PM
To: ipaulsen at linknet.kitsap.lib.wa.us; tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: begging Caspian Tern


Caspian Terns nested mainly in the Columbia River (roughly 10,000 pairs); a
small number (100-200 pairs) nested in the Potholes area. There is
suspicion that a small number may have nested in Commencement Bay, but I am
unaware of any evidence/data to confirm this. A little known and,
therefore, unappreciated fact about Caspian Terns is that fledglings
accompany one or both of their parents for up to 9 months after fledging.
Further, given the ability of these birds to disperse very large distances
(e.g. hundreds of miles) in a matter of days, seeing a fledgling beg from a
parent does NOT imply that the birds bred anywhere near that location.

Chris

Chris Thompson
Research Scientist
Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

>>> ian paulsen <ipaulsen at linknet.kitsap.lib.wa.us> 08/24/01 04:24PM >>>
HI ALL:
I just saw a juvenile Caspian Tern begging from an adult here on
Bainbridge Island at eagle harbor. Does anyone know if they nested
anywhere in Puget Sound this year or did this young bird come from
somewhere else?

Sincerely
Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Is., WA, USA
ipaulsen at linknet.kitsap.lib.wa.us
A.K.A.: "Birdbooker"
"Rallidae all the way"