White-winged Tern in Trondheim

Following some days of warm weather from the southeast several rare birds showed up in Norway during mid May. One of them was a White-winged Tern near Trondheim in middle Norway. A few days after the discovery I was visiting my family in Trondheim to celebrate Constitution Day on 17 May. Slightly surprising the tern stayed for several days, and I was lucky to see it twice during my stay. These pictures were shot in the afternoon 15 May.

Identification of adult summer White-winged Tern is pretty straightforward. The underwing pattern, with contrasting black underwing coverts and greyish white primaries, is probably the most obvious way to separate it from the slightly similar Black Tern. The contrast between the blackish back and bright grey wing is also missing in the generally duller Black Tern.

White-winged Black Terns are rare in Norway with about 65 records. Most birds have been found in May and June, and during the late summer.

Picture of the Gaulosen river delta above. The White-winged Tern favorite patch was at the shore in front. The area was very good at the moment with hundreds of Redshanks (236 birds in one feeding flock!), lots of Greenshanks and several Green Sandpipers, Whimbrels and Gadwalls to mention a few.