One good tern …

Yesterday, I spotted a Sandwich Tern, Thalasseus sandvicensis patrolling the open river lock at Brownshill Staunch on the Great River Ouse. It flew back and forth over a stretch of about 100 metres for 20 minutes or so before heading off downstream. The river cuts through the RSPB Ouse Fen nature reserve (I’d walked in from the Over end rather than Needingworth). I’ve seen several Common Terns and even a Black Tern on this reserve. But, a Sandwich seemed unusual so I posted my spot to the local patch’s birding WhatsApp group when I first saw it. There was a flurry of interest and one member, Richard Thomas, keen to see the bird headed to the Staunch. Unfortunately, for him the bird had moved on by the time he arrived, and I hadn’t checked back in on the WhatsApp group after my initial update to let them know. My bad. Sandwich Tern in flight over Brownshill Staunch I later spoke to Richard about the presence of the Sandwich Tern. I had assumed it wasn’t a so-called mega rarity, but still its presence was rather unusual. He told me he thinks they’re almost annual in this area despite their being so obviously coastal feeders and breeders. “Sandwich Terns are just about annual locally – I’ve seen them on six occasions in 20 years and missed them more times than that,” Richard told me. “They are an absolute pain in the neck because they rarely stay more than a few minutes. I’ve been lucky on four occasions with “fly...
Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Birds Source Type: blogs