Laridae·Ordre des Charadriiformes·Vulnérable (VU) en France — Espèce menacée protégée·📅 Updated:
The Common Tern, agile sea-swallow of the Var salt pans
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Agrandir
A slender white aerial acrobat, diving from height into the Hyères salt pans to catch silverfish for its chicks.
My field observations in the Var — sites, months and context
✓ Aug 2026 Synthesis (1 record)Captured in flight carrying a freshly caught fish back to nesting islets at Hyères salt pans.
August 2026 Field Mapping Record:
📍Pesquiers Salt Marshes(1 rec)
Statut dans le Var : Nicheuse estivale remarquable (avril à fin août), migrateur·Période privilégiée : Mai à Septembre
Commented in situ photo gallery
3 telephoto photographs taken in the Var department (Rule 11)
Agrandir
Photo 1 / 3 — Salins des Pesquiers / Rade d'Hyères, VarEn vol avec un petit poisson argenté dans le bec
Agrandir
Photo 2 / 3 — Salins des Pesquiers, Hyères, VarVol plané gracieux en plein ciel au-dessus de la lagune
Agrandir
Photo 3 / 3 — Salins des Pesquiers, Hyères, VarPiqué de pêche en vol sur fond de ciel rose au crépuscule
Recognizing the species on my photos — visible details
Length 35 cm with a glossy black cap, coral-red bill with black tip, deeply forked tail and pale grey mantle.
Habitat
Protected shell islets, salt dikes and shallow coastal lagoons.
Diet
Small marine and brackish fish caught by plunge-diving.
Photographing the species: field experience
Requires 1/4000s shutter speed to freeze water droplets shedding from its plumage as it rebounds from dives.
Remarkable facts & hide notes:
- •Artificial gravel islets built by the LPO at Hyères provide predator-free nesting sanctuary.
- •Males present fish gifts to females during courtship displays to prove foraging skill.
- •Undertakes transcontinental migrations to southern African coasts.
