Injured juvenile sooty tern makes a rare appearance at Dona Paula jetty

Panaji: The recent discovery of a juvenile sooty tern at Dona Paula jetty has spurred excitement among bird enthusiasts in Goa. The injured bird, estimated to be less than a year old, was rescued by the Drishti Marine lifeguards’ stranding network.
“The sighting of the sooty tern in Goa is not only rare for the state but for the entire west coast,” said Pranoy Baidya, a birder familiar with avian migrations.
The seabird is known for its dark grey or sooty plumage and distinct, loud call. It spends most of its life at sea, nesting in large colonies on remote tropical islands during breeding season and undertaking extensive migrations between breeding and feeding grounds across oceans.
Typically found in the deep waters of the Bay of Bengal, sooty terns are occasionally displaced towards the Arabian Sea by cyclonic winds, especially during storm seasons.“Juvenile birds like these often lack the stamina to stay on course and are easily carried off by storms, displacing them far from their usual habitats. Returning to their breeding grounds after such a displacement is often fraught with difficulty,” he said.
While the sooty tern is a pelagic bird from the east coast, its sighting coincides with the migration period of pelagic birds along the west coast as well. Another discovery on the same day was at Benaulim, which involved a Persian shearwater.
“This bird’s travel course is from Lakshadweep to the Middle East via the Persian Gulf, owing to which it has been given the name Persian shearwater. However, its sighting is more expected in this region during migration seasons,” he said.
Meanwhile, a juvenile, masked booby, was grounded and unable to fly at Majorda on Sunday. The bird immediately received treatment and is under the care of the forest department. The masked booby is known for its striking appearance and is commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, often nesting in colonies on islands.