Sooty Terns on Ascension
The Wideawake Bird
During the 2nd World War an American military airbase, Wideawake Airbase, was built on the island. The airbase was named after the local name for the Sooty Tern - the Wideawake Bird, named for its loud call, which would wake people up early in the morning. Near the base there is a big colony, consisting of more than one million breeding pairs. Other seabirds such as boobies, petrels, tropicbirds, White and Noddy Terns and Ascension Frigatebirds can also be seen.
