As you can see from these remarkable images of adult birds and their tiny chicks, Tasmanian bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler has spent a lot of time observing their behaviour.
The fairy terns nest in the open and can be exposed to predators such as domestic dogs. Fairy tern colonies are found in Tasmania on Flinders Island, King Island and along Tasmania's east coast. There are three subspecies - in Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.
In Tasmania, the fairy tern is listed as vulnerable.
It hovers above the water to catch its prey, darting in beak first.
As you can see from these remarkable images of adult birds and their tiny chicks, Tasmanian bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler has spent a lot of time observing their behaviour.
The fairy terns nest in the open and can be exposed to predators such as domestic dogs. Fairy tern colonies are found in Tasmania on Flinders Island, King Island and along Tasmania's east coast. There are three subspecies - in Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.
In Tasmania, the fairy tern is listed as vulnerable.
It hovers above the water to catch its prey, darting in beak first.
Bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler once thought it would take about five years to travel around most of Tasmania’s beaches and survey their inhabitants. 31 years later, he has walked 450 beaches of Tasmania - and, he's still going.
Dr Eric Woehler says he doesn’t need to exaggerate what these tiny migratory bird species can do - “I can simply tell people the bird that sits in the cup of your hand will fly farther than the distance between the earth and the moon over its lifetime."
Dr Eric Woehler has been asked a few times where his passion and interest came from. He grew up in Hobart in a caring home, but nature wasn’t something that was a thread in conversations. That inspiration happened at university.
“Every time, it’s like the first time. You’re just like a kid in the candy store when you see that much wildlife,” says veteran bird ecologist Dr Eric Woehler, of his more than 10 trips to Macquarie Island. Read about his journey.
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