Garganey and Black Tern at Amwell

29th April 2014

A pair of Garganey had arrived at Amwell and had taken up residence on the spit in front of the White Hide. There had also been a pair of Garganey at Rye Meads for 10 days, so it is possible that this was the same pair that had flown the 1.5 miles between sites.

Fortunately they were in the open but, as is often the case with Garganey, were asleep. Eventually they woke up and went for a wander and a feed in the muddy shallows allowing a number of shots to be taken. Opportunities like this are rare as your views of Garganey are often distant.

During this time the Black Tern was spending most of its time out in the middle of the lake and so I turned my attention to the Common Terns that were fishing in the bay to the right of the hide. With a little patience it is possible to get reasonable shots of Common Terns in flight as they often fly a repetitive circuit and can come quite close.

Then, much to my surprise, the Common Terns were joined by the Black Tern which was far more difficult to photograph, keeping to the other side of the bay and hugging the reed bed making focusing more difficult. However, after taking about 100 shots I did mange to get a couple of reasonable mementos of the occasion.