Said the mother Tern to her baby Tern

“Would you like a brother?”

Said the baby Tern to the mother Tern,

“Yes, one good Tern deserves another.”

The Tern by Spike Milligan

Larger Royal Tern flanked by a Sandwich Tern

We just returned from a short family trip to Anna Maria Island, Florida, near Bradenton, which lies at sea level as the westernmost part of Manatee County. During our first day, torrential rain storms spawned a tornado a few miles to the north and left Anna Marie Island nearly adrift. Public health officials went door to door to warn residents to “stay safe” and maybe consider leaving. At the same time, there was a lot of new construction, and existing modest houses like our rental were on sale for millions of dollars. The following days were sunny, and, I imagine, the encroaching Gulf of Mexico was forgotten.

The houses on this lovely island have nowhere to go, but the abundant shorebirds will always find a new shoreline on which to nest and forage - one hopes. I found the legions of terns arrayed for battle on the expansive white beaches particularly endearing. Royal Terns were the most prevalent but always mixed with Sandwich Terns and the occasional Laughing Gull (laughing, no doubt, at the big-brained humans’ belief in the permanence of things).

Royal Terns are the second largest among the 45 species of terns worldwide and noticeably larger than their Sandwich Tern brethren. Both species stick to saltwater shores, hunting for fish and crustaceans while cruising 30 feet above the water. Spotting tiny prey from this altitude, they peel off and dive-bomb the surface at blistering speed. These hardy aerialists live as long as 30 years. Those on the Gulf Coasts stay put all year long, while those found further north may migrate southward in winter months.

Speaking of terns and migration, the Arctic Tern occupies the royal throne among all birds. Arctic Terns nest during summer in circumpolar regions of the northern hemisphere and then fly up to 12,000 miles to winter near the edges of the Antarctic continent. That’s a 24,000-mile round trip every year for up to 30 years. Do the math - that’s a lot of frequent flyer miles! Consider reading Migration by Charlotte McConaghy, in which an imagined last breeding colony of Arctic Terns plays a central role.

Tern by Sudesh Mishra

I turn a page and a bird dives.
The bay is blue and nameless.
It comes up, rows air.
I turn a page and a bird dives.
I lose count of the pages
And the diving bird and the bay
—Blue and nameless.
I turn a page and a bird dives,
It comes up, rows air.
The bay is blue and nameless.