Category Archives: Tern

Crested Tern taking a bath at Newcastle Ocean Baths

Yesterday I visited the city of Newcastle for the first time. This is Newcastle on the eastern coast of Australia, not the one in the UK. While strolling along the prom, approaching the Newcastle Ocean Baths, I saw a Crested Tern enjoying a bath in the rock pool that lies on one side of the baths:

Common name: Crested Tern
Scientific name: Sterna bergii
Approximate length: 45 cm
Date spotted: 11 March 2022 (late summer)
Location: Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia: -32.929794, 151.789490

Here’s a picture of the building that you glimpse at the end of the video — the Newcastle Ocean Baths:

Crested Tern chilling out in Curl Curl

Amongst the wheeling Silver Gulls, joggers, and fishermen, a Crested Tern stood gazing over the rocks and sea.

I was walking along the cliff path when I passed the bird. Fifteen minutes later I was on my way back. The bird was still there. This picture shows the crest from which the bird’s name comes:

Crested Terns are a common sight around the shores of Australia. You may see them sitting on the sand with the gulls, or darting over the waves and diving to catch a fish. These are the seas and cliffs of Curl Curl where the bird and I were chilling out:

Common name: Crested Tern

Scientific name: Sterna bergii

Approximate length: 45 cm

Date spotted: 22 April 2019 (Autumn)

Location: Curl Curl, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’36.9″S 151°17’36.8″E