Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans), Patagonia Lake spillway, Santa Cruz County

This Elegant Tern was photographed by Dave Stejskal on 18 May 2021.

This adult Elegant Tern was photographed by Dave Stejskal on the morning of 18 May, 2021 at the spillway at the far western end of Patagonia Lake. Elegant Tern is a very rare (but increasing) wanderer to southern Arizona from the Gulf of California in the spring and early summer. Four Elegant Terns were seen on the lake on the morning of May 16, but apparently moved on as they were not seeen subsequently.

May 2021 saw an exceptional number of well documented reports of this species in the southern half of the state. Most sightings of this species in Arizona are preceded by strong southwest winds originating in the northern Gulf of California.

Elegant Tern is a large tern with a shaggy black crest in alternate plumage, black legs, and a long, thin, and slightly drooping orange bill that pales to yellowish distally.

18 May 2021, photo by Dave Stejskal

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