Sternula nereis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The fairy tern (Sternula nereis) is a small tern which is native to the southwestern Pacific. It is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN and the New Zealand subspecies is critically endangered. Fairy terns live in colonies along the coastlines and estuaries of Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, feeding largely on small, epipelagic schooling fishes, breeding in areas close to their feeding sites. They have a monogamous mating system, forming breeding pairs in which they mate, nest, and care for offspring.
There are three subspecies: Australian fairy tern, Sternula nereis nereis (Gould, 1843) – breeds in Australia New Caledonian fairy tern, Sternula nereis exsul (Mathews, 1912) – breeds in New Caledonia New Zealand fairy tern / Tara iti, Sternula nereis davisae (Mathews & Iredale, 1913) – breeds in northern New Zealand
The three subspecies are distinguished by geographical range, and slight morphological differences. Gene flow between subspecies is little to none. The fairy tern is a small tern with a white body and light bluish-grey wings. A small black patch extends no further than the eye and not as far as the bill. In the breeding plumage both the beak and the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rottnest Island | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fairy Tern sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 61st most-seen of the 102 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Fairy Tern in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June and October, the lowest months. Those are among Ningaloo Marine Park's wettest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against almost none in October.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fairy Tern sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Fairy Tern sightings, Ningaloo Marine Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Rottnest Island (Australia, about 50%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fairy Tern is recorded against all the birds logged in Ningaloo Marine Park (28 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
