Color-banded Roseate Terns

The below entry I wrote in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds blog per request by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and I feel it is important for everyone to read here as well. Let's see if we can help them out!

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking re-sightings of color-banded juvenile Roseate Terns. Please watch for these yellow bands on any birds you see as you should be able to read them well with a scope up to 50 yards away. The bands have a letter and number combination - for example, those from Faulker Island have an H followed by two numbers. You can see an example in this really cool photo below by V. Koos.

If you sight one of these birds please send us a report of the observation at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. Include as much information as possible with the location, bird's health, behavior, status, the time of day and date, and as much of the band you are able to read, along with any other pertinent information. We will pass this on to USFWS and report back to you with any information on your bird's life history.

Roseate Terns are exciting finds at any time, and discovering one of these banded individuals would be fantastic! Thank you all in advance for any finds.


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photo © V. Koos and not to be reproduced without explicit permission