One good tern deserves another

Last night, Dave Reed, Jane Kelsall and I had a go at netting passage Sandwich Terns at Ynyslas. Numbers have built up a bit just recently and there were in excess of 100 around during the day. The tides are just coming right at the moment and with the calm weather it was the ideal opportunity (it's amazing how infrequently birds, high tides, darkness and favourable weather all coincide!).

As it turned out we could have done with it getting dark about an hour earlier as most of the birds flighting in on the rising tide could clearly see the nets and took evasive action! Evenso we did manage to catch five including a control and a very fresh-faced youngster.

Sandwich Terns continue to feed their young whilst on migration, managing to re-locate their own chick time and time again from their calls. This one is obviously not long fledged and indeed its primaries were still growing. Even so it may have already flown across the Irish Sea or, more likely, beach hopped down from one of the nearest breeding colonies on Anglesey.  In the past we have even caught chicks from the Farne Islands, which must have obviously crossed over mainland UK from east to west coast!

Just ignore him, he'll go away eventually!!