Common Terns at Herdsman Lake

The BAWA Sightings page received a report of 12 Common Tern at Maurice Hamer Park, Herdsman Lake on the morning of the 7th February. A subsequent search that afternoon revealed one bird still remaining at Maurice Hamer Park. Other areas of the lake, particularly the northern end, were not extensively searched, so the others may still be present. The single bird was initially seen hawking over the water, then perched on a piece of wood near the lake shore about 200m around to the left (north) of the carpark off Lakeside Drive near Heron Place.

Common Tern (& Pacific Black Duck) at Herdsman Lake

This is believed to be the first record of Common Tern for Herdsman Lake. The species is uncommon in the south-west, but is sometimes reported from around Mandurah and the Peel Inlet. 

Many thanks go to Dusty Miller, who made the initial report.

UPDATE: No further reports have come in, and a relatively extensive search on Friday (11/02) failed to locate any terns.