Terns
I love terns. They may be a bit noisy but they're sleek, attractive birds and less aggressive than gulls. Superb fliers. Great to watch them plunge diving for fish. Plus they're all summer migrants so you don't get chance to tire of them, before they've all flown down south again.
Common Tern
Arctic Tern - A delightful bird. Very elegantly shaped, enhanced by long tail streamers. Very short legs. Wonderful effortless flyers. You have to travel to Northumbria and northwards to see most, but there's always a few that breed on Anglesey, which is more convenient for many of us.
L-R - 1& 2 Inner Farne, 3& 5 Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey and 4 RSPB Coquet Island, Northumbria
Juvenile
Black Tern - An attractive, small tern only seen during passage migration in spring and autumn. They never stay for more than a few days, sadly, but can drop in at any inland lake or reservoir. I've yet to have a good close-up view of an adult.
WBC Belvide - May
This beautiful juvenile was spotted a few miles out from the N.Yorks coast in early September.
Common Tern - Not that common really. They often breed inland at fresh water sites, unlike the other species. A lovely bird. Many lake and reservoir reserves place rafts on the water, a few yards out from the edge, to give them some additional nesting sites in relative safety. They're quick fliers but an exciting challenge to capture on camera and are very photogenic.
Juveniles at Redcar beach - Sept
Little Tern - One of my very favourite birds. They're neat, tiny and very attractive. They nest in close colonies on a few specific pebble beaches. They remain faithful to their breeding site. The place I go to watch them is Gronant in N.Wales. A beautiful place in it's own right, but with the added attraction of these little fellows it's definitely a favourite place of mine.
Roseate Tern - Another beautiful tern. These are probably our rarest seabird. Thankfully they're heavily supported. These photos were taken from a boat around Coquet Island, Northumbria. The island is run by the RSPB to protect this rare breeding colony. As you can see they erect little houses for the terns to protect their young in. I love their long tail streamers.
Sandwich Tern - This is our biggest tern. They arrive and start breeding early. They are chunkier, with short tails. I like their yellow tipped bills.
Photo 1 was taken on their breeding site on the Farne Islands. 2. Over the River Coquet estuary. 3,4&6. Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey. 5 Is a young bird in Autumn at Bridlington.
