Unusual bird sighted at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

An unusual sighting of a white-winged tern at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. [National Park Service photo]

A white-winged tern was recently spotted near Ramp 44 in Buxton on Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The small European bird has only been seen twice in North Carolina. The only other time was 25 years ago, in August 1994, near the Bodie Island Lighthouse.

The terns are sometimes spotted with with flocks of migrant black terns on the Atlantic Coast in late summer, according to the Audubon Society. It has also strayed from Asia to Alaska.

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