Post-breeding prospecting trips of adult Sandwich Terns Thalasseus sandvicensis

Capsule Multiple tracking methods (colour-rings, plumage-markings and GPS-loggers) revealed that adult Sandwich Terns Thalasseus sandvicensis from the Netherlands showed prospecting behaviour in other colonies within Northwest Europe. Birds were recorded from a few kilometres to over 850 km away and in different countries around the Southern North Sea. Our data suggest large-scale connectivity between Northwest European Sandwich Tern colonies. Such connectivity is potentially of great importance when modelling the population structure of this species.