Measuring 11 inches from beak to tail, weighing in at three-and-a-half ounces, the arctic tern is the animal kingdom’s greatest traveler. Arctic terns migrate from breeding grounds near and above the arctic circle all the way to the waters off Antarctica. Researchers in England’s Farne Islands, where I took this picture last month, banded an arctic tern with a chip a few years back. They were shocked to discover the bird’s annual migration totaled more than 59,000 miles!
The chicks leave the nest within a few days after hatching, but hideout nearby. They start to fly in three to four weeks, but remain with mommy and daddy for another month or two. But then it’s time to fly. The arctic terns of the Farne Islands fly across the UK to the Atlantic, down the west coast of Africa past the Cape of Good Hope, then turn east or west before going south toward the pole. And then they return to the Farne Islands for breeding the next spring.
They stop in the waters along the way to eat fish. Arctic Terns breed on coasts and tundra from New England, Washington and the UK north to the northernmost limits of land.Their migrations take them to every ocean and to the vicinity of every continent. Amazing!