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Friday 29 July 2011

Arctic Tern

One of the features on the patch in summer is the small numbers of terns feeding offshore, with frequent gatherings either on the groynes at high tide or on the beach itself at low tide.

Today whilst seawatching I noticed a small flock of Common Terns had gathered on the beach, and even from a distance I was pretty sure an Arctic Tern was with them so quickly dashed from my vantage point down onto the beach below where my suspicions were quickly confirmed.


A nice comparison shot below showing just how distinctive they are from the Common Terns in the background.


Also in the flock was this superb juv.


And finally a shot of some of the Common Terns before the whole flock was flushed by a combination on the incoming tide, holiday-makers and a very large low flying aircraft!