Arctic Tern at Hillarys Boat Harbour

LATEST UPDATE: Still present and showing well late this afternoon (13/08)

An Arctic Tern is currently hanging out around Hillarys Boat Harbour in Perth's northern suburbs. The bird has been very co-operative and allowed close views, but appears in reasonable health. It was initially seen on the 4th August by Michael Hancock, then again by others on the 5th and 6th. It's now been seen again by a number of people on the 11th and 12th August.

Arctic Tern at Hillarys Boat Harbour.

Arctic Terns are rare visitors to the south-west, most often in winter. Interestingly, the majority of recent records near Perth have been from August. This individual is likely to have been blown inshore during a 6-day period of strong westerlies.

Arctic Tern in flight at Hillarys Boat Harbour.

Hillarys Boat Harbour can be accessed from West Coast Drive/Whitfords Avenue or Hepburn Avenue. Parking near AQWA and walking out along the southern harbour wall has been successful, but the bird has been seen in most areas of the harbour at one time or another.


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Arctic Tern at Hillarys Boat Harbour. This bird has so far been vey co-operative, so this may be a good chance to get a close look at this rare visitor.