Photo: Donna A. Dewhurst / USFWS · Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, Potter Marsh, Alaska · U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service · Public Domain
← Kodiak species
Gulls & Terns
Arctic Tern
Sterna paradisaea
The world's greatest long-distance migrant, making an epic annual journey from the Arctic to Antarctic and back—up to 70,000 miles per year. Nests in colonies on Kodiak's coastal flats.
Where to look
Coastal flats near the Buskin River, Chiniak Bay margins, and near Kodiak Refuge beaches.
Habitat
Coastal flats, tundra ponds, and rocky beaches for nesting; open ocean during migration and winter.
Diet
Small fish, especially sand lance, and marine invertebrates.
Natural history note
Arctic Terns see more daylight than any other animal on Earth, following the sun on their pole-to-pole migration.