Quick identification
Sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis)
A medium-large pale tern with a slim black bill tipped yellow and a shaggy black crest.
Season and local range: Regular coastal resident and visitor.
Habitat and island setting
Gulf shore, passes, jetties and sandbars with other terns.
Where to look
Compare birds in mixed flocks at Isla Blanca and along uncrowded beach. The yellow bill tip is useful when light allows. Birds may move as tides, wind, fronts, water levels and activity at the site change.
What the bird is doing
Sandwich terns plunge for fish and rest communally. Avoid driving or walking between a flock and the water.
Watching birds
Use binoculars or a camera zoom, stay on public paths and leave feeding, resting and nesting birds enough room to continue normal behavior. If a bird stops feeding, stands alert, calls repeatedly or moves away because of you, increase the distance. Check access information in the South Padre Island birding guide before making a special trip.