White fronted tern hovering over estuary.

Lots of white fronted terns were roosting on rocks and occasionally flying off to get fish for the juveniles that were with them. The wind was awful, hard to stand up with the gusts so it was hard to get a decent image. Lots of blurred ones though!!

The White-fronted Tern (Sterna striata) is the most common tern of New Zealand. It rarely swims, apart from bathing, despite having webbed feet. The species is protected.

White-fronted Terns feed in large flocks by plunge diving on shoals of smelt and pilchards which have been driven to the surface by larger fish and are easily caught. Like all terns they fly with their heads and bills pointing down to see their prey.