Cemlyn Bay (Anglesey) 09/07/21

-

On the way back from the Lake District we arrived at Cemlyn Bay by midday. The tern colony was clearly the main attraction, and the sight, sound and smell of this was remarkable.

The Elegant Tern had flown out to sea about 30 minutes earlier so it was a case of waiting hopefully for its return, and in the process enjoying the other inhabitants of the colony.

Sandwich Tern was the most numerous species, the warden saying that 1900 pairs had been counted this summer, and they seemed to be having a very successful year judging from the number of juveniles to be seen. Adults were constantly returning with small fish.

380 pairs of Common and Arctic Terns were also said to be present, with the latter species being more obvious and often quite close. A single Roseate Tern was also found.

After an anxious wait the Elegant Tern flew in at approx. 2:45, then promptly disappeared amongst the vegetation. However, within half an hour the bird reappeared and showed very well on one of the nesting boxes placed to entice Roseate Terns. It regularly interacted with Sandwich Terns.

On the walk back to the car a characteristic call announced the presence of a pair of Chough, albeit never very close.

The Tern colony

Sandwich Terns

Elegant Tern





Sandwich Tern

Sandwich with Common Tern

Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

Roseate with Common Terns

Chough


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Northward Hill 25/06/25

-
Image
Another warm day so I spent the afternoon locally, at Northward Hill. The main quarry was White-letter Hairstreak, with about six being seen.. However, it was hard work and none came low, favouring instead the tops of Elm saplings. Whilst looking for WLH a White Admiral flew through and there were several Silver-washed Fritillary. Ringlet were in good numbers as were Marbled White. A few Peacock, Red Admiral, and Comma were also present. A couple of Lesser Whitethroat were singing and Blackcaps were still in fine voice. White-letter Hairstreak Ringlet Peacock
Read more

Sandwich/St.Margaret's 30/08/25

-
Image
The day started at Sandwich looking for a Spotted Crake mentioned on Birdguides. We parked at Sandwich Quay and then walked along the river for about 35 minutes during which a number of House Martins were seen, also three Clouded Yellow. On reaching New Downs South Pool the crake was on view straight away, venturing out from the reeds. It was backlit for much of the time so tricky to photograph. A Snipe was also there plus a number of Coot. In the afternoon we headed towards St. Margaret's, parking up in a layby on the Dover Road. Three Dotterel were present in a stubble field which had been harrowed. Excellent views of the birds were obtained, a n adult with two juveniles. The adult Dotterel was the first I've seen for a long time. The final stop was a brief look for Chough near Dover Castle. Eight birds were near the aviary and so quite distant. Spotted Crake The walk along the Stour Juvenile Dotterel  Adult Dotterel   
Read more

Elmley 16/09/25

-
Image
Less windy today and mostly sunny so I made what was belatedly my first visit to Elmley this year. The male Red-footed Falcon, initially found a couple of days ago, had been reported earlier th is morning.  To start with there was no sign of it after I arrived, however I  walked down to the brickfields and was surprised to see the bird there. It was sitting i n a grassy field though soon flew off, back up the track towards the oaks.  Good views of the falcon were then obtained, both in flight and sitting in the trees. It seemed to be a second-winter bird on account of some barring on the underwing due to a mixture of old and new flight feathers. It seems quite possible this bird is the same as that exactly one year ago when in juvenile plumage.  There were also a couple of Hobbies in the same area today. This was my first outing using the new OM1 so a bit of a learning exercise in how best to use it. First view of the falcon. Red-footed Falcon  Hobby 
Read more