Onychoprion fuscatus
One was observed along the Ohio River near New Richmond on July 12, 2005. Following that, one (the same?) was present at Harsha Lake in East Fork State Park from July 13 through July 19 (Morse 2005, accepted by Ohio Bird Records Committee, Kemp 2006a).
This bird was found after the remnants of Hurricane Dennis passed over our area. That hurricane had previously passed through the Dry Tortugas, which hosts about 20,000 breeding pairs. Other Sooty Terns were also found to our south following the passage of Hurricane Dennis.
This was Ohio’s only record of Sooty Tern.