MADISON, WI (KDAL) – A common tern that was captured and released June 3rd from a small island in Lake Superior’s Chequamegon Bay is the oldest in the Great Lakes region and second oldest in North America.
Bird number 962-67245 was banded as a 2 to 5 day old chick in 1995 and is now 26 years old.
The bird has been recaptured six times, all on the same island where it was found this year by former DNR Wildlife biologist Fred Strand.
A Wisconsin DNR avian ecologist, Sumner Matteson, says it’s a reflection of the stability of the site and the overall successful management of the common tern on Lake Superior.
Common terns have been listed as an endangered species in Wisconsin and endangered or threatened in five other states along the Great Lakes.
There are only two common tern colonies in the Lake Superior basin, the one near Ashland and another near Superior.
The bird’s population is monitored by placing numbered metal bands on their legs.
