Least Tern at Nielsen's Grove Park in Orem

[Julie Gritton <julie@gritton.org>]

Hello!  I'm new to this list and new to birding, so please let me know
where I misstep.

I've only been birding for about a month, so I don't have a whole lot
of experience, so keep that in mind.  But last night my husband and I
were walking in Nielsen's Grove Park, that new park down on 2000 South
in Orem.  I always bring my binoculars down there because there's a
nice little colony of yellow-headed blackbirds that I like to watch,
nesting in the reeds in the pond.  Last night (June 15) at about 6:30
pm I saw a bird I'd never seen there before.  It was white, and from a
distance it resembled a gull, but I knew it was no gull because it was
flying too fast and it was too small.

It was swooping rapidly over the surface of the pond, diving
occasionally and coming up with something in its beak, probably a
small fish or insect (conjecture).  Once I saw it drop what it was
holding, catch it in midair and swallow it.  Its wingbeats were very
rapid and its feet paddled slightly as it flew.

As I got closer I was able to focus on it with the binoculars and this
is what I saw:  a smallish (about robin-sized) white bird with gray
patches on its back and wings, orange-red legs and feet, black patches
near the eyes and the back of the head (and a white patch in the
middle of the face), and a bright yellow-gold beak with a black tip.
The tail was forked and fanned open and closed as it flew.

I went home and looked in my bird book, couldn't find it, so spent
half an hour on line and identified it as a Least Tern.  My husband
agrees with me, for what it's worth... ;)  When I returned to the pond
about an hour later it was gone.

Sorry this was so long-winded...  I'm going back this evening if the
weather clears up to see if it comes back.  I'd like to get some
pictures but I'm not sure I can if it doesn't settle.  (I just have a
little digital camera.)

As you can imagine it's kind of exciting for a newbie to spot a rare
bird.  Thanks for letting me share it. ;)

Julie Gritton



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