Sunday, 5 October 2025
As Bird of the Year heats up, we’re spotlighting some of our most vulnerable coastal species, like the Fairy Tern. To kick off, we spoke with Sonia Sanchez, BirdLife Australia’s Fairy Tern Project Coordinator, about why this small and elegant but fiercely protective beach-nesting bird deserves your vote – and your support.
Voting is open for Guardian/Birdlife Australia Bird of the Year 2025. Vote for your favourite now!
The population of Fairy Terns has been in steep decline in eastern Australia since the 1980s. Combined with a low breeding success and an ageing population in Victoria, this means they need all the help and awareness they can get! These tiny birds nest right on the beach and other open coastal habitats in spring and summer, coinciding with when people like to head down to the beach, so not they only have to contend with wild weather, king tides and predators, they’re also vulnerable to disturbance from off-leash dogs, 4-wheel drives and people on the beach. They’re also very elegant, with interesting courtship behaviours, like males walking proudly with their head up and a small fish held cross-ways in their bill to show off to potential partners.
One of Australia’s smallest terns (22–27 cm, ~60g), the Fairy Tern appears rather similar to the Little Tern, but is stockier and has paler grey upperparts. In breeding plumage, key features are its white forehead, which contrasts with a black cap (which has rounder edges than the Little Tern), a black lobe in front of the eye that doesn’t extend to the base of the bill (unlike Little Tern), and a bright orange-yellow bill that usually lacks a black tip. In non-breeding plumage, the crown is blotched black and white, the bill has black at the tip and base, and the upperparts remain pale grey.
In Australia, there are two main subpopulations of Fairy Terns: one in WA and the other in eastern Australia. The eastern population has experienced steep declines, comprising only about 1500 mature individuals, while the population in Western Australia is thought to be stable, with around 5,000 individuals. Threats are region-specific, but conservation efforts for both populations involve managing deteriorating habitat and creating artificial habitat, protecting colonies from human disturbance and predators. Local groups and researchers have worked with the species for over 40 years, with coordinated national efforts increasing in the last decade.
BirdLife Australia’s conservation work with Fairy Tern focuses in Victoria and South Australia, but we also collaborate with researchers and conservationists in other states. In Victoria, work began near Melbourne in 2015–16, focusing on establishing monitoring programs, mitigating threats like predators, and creating habitat. Efforts have expanded to monitor all key breeding locations in the state. In South Australia, the main work has been monitoring and managing the colony on Bird Island since 2018–19 and one at the Murray Mouth since 2023. A key focus has been coordinating efforts nationally. Recently, BirdLife Australia conducted the first-ever Fairy Tern census across its entire eastern range. Breeding success in South Australian sites has been significantly higher than in Victoria.
Western Australia’s most endangered black-cockatoo, Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo, is in the running for Bird of the Year.
Australia’s rarest bird of prey, the Red Goshawk, is in the running for Bird of the Year.
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