The Arctic Tern completes annual epic migrations from pole to pole covering at least 40,000 kmon their round-trip journeys. They breed throughout Arctic Alaska from boreal to tundra habitatsand have their highest nesting densities inland (Lensink 1984). Arctic Terns typically choose nestsites on open ground near water and often on small islands in ponds and lakes (Hatch 2002).Arctic terns consume a wide variety of fish and invertebrate prey, fish are particularly importantduring the breeding season for feeding young (Hatch 2002). This species spends their winters(austral summers) in offshore waters near Antarctica (Hatch 2002). Alaskan Arctic Coastal Plainpopulation estimates from 2011 range from 7-12,000 (Larned et al. 2012).
