This weekend, in our visit to the wetlands of Northern Morocco, we had the chance to observe up to 9 Lesser Crested Terns during a boat trip in Merja Zerga.
The Lesser Crested Tern breeds in subtropical coastal parts of the world, mainly from the Red Sea across the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific and Australia, with a single population in the Mediterranean, on two islands off the coast of Libya (Thalasseus bengalensis emigratus).
One of the observed individuals had a white PVC ring evidencing its Libyan origin. This Mediterranean endemic taxa overwinters in the Atlantic coast of North Africa and the Strait of Gibraltar is a regular stopover with most records concentrated in Ceuta and Tarifa, both in spring and autumn. The following link provides a report on the Lesser Crested Tern Libyan ringing scheme, including the picture of a Libyan LC Tern in Tarifa by Yeray Seminario: http://ift.tt/1EjPZhu…