Fun With the Terns

4th September 2023

When things are quiet on the coast what better else to do than choose a secluded spot on the beach with terns off-shore, find a breakwater with the sun behind you, get comfortable and wait.. Feeding terns will normally keep in groups and follow a set circuit so at times will be fishing right in front of you. What could be better?

Initially those that came close enough for some shot were adult Common Terns with their moulting black cap extending to the red bill.

Approximately half of the terns were juveniles, which is a good sign, with their white foreheads and a variable amount of red on the bills. The redder the bill, the more recent they have hatched Some of the photos also show the brown feathers on the mantle and wing coverts.

Then a group of Sandwich Terns arrived and this first shot shows one diving for a fish with the beach huts at Dovercourt as a back-drop.

All of the birds seemed to be adults.

Well, what a couple of hours of great fun and as I have said before, it certainly beats fishing!!!!