White-fronted Tern, amongst Crested Tern – Newcastle baths

Today, it was an early morning trip to the baths – Newcastle’s outdoor swimming pool, to search through the roosting Crested Tern flock in the hope of finding White-fronted Tern, another winter visitor to the NSW coast, and a Hunter tick. It didn’t take Dan long to locate the only two birds present amongst their bigger cousins. I also located a Crested Tern with double metal leg rings – partially readable.

On the way back home we called in at Bunnings DIY store to add another Hunter tick – Mallard. Whilst the male looks reasonably pure and apparently sufficiently ‘tickable’, the female has more than a gene or two of Black Duck in her I’d say.

296, with hopefully one or two more additions on tomorrow’s planned pelagic, out of Port Stephens.