Dawlish Warren 4/12/25

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I headed to Devon this morning following news that a yellow billed tern at Dawlish Warren had been identified as Lesser Crested. I arrived rather late at one o'clock then had a 30 minute walk to reach the site, initially overlooking the estuary from the dunes.

Fortunately the tern was seen straight away though was distant from the viewpoint in the dunes. I therefore moved to watch from near the disused hide, almost halving the distance to the bird. 

Initially the tern was sleeping but eventually began stretching and preening then flew around the estuary, occasionally catching a fish. At one point it was heard to call, sounding much like a Sandwich Tern.

The bird then settled on a yellow buoy near the boats and after watching for another 20 minutes or so I headed back. 

The weather was perfect for this visit and good views had been obtained through the 'scope. It was an unexpected but very welcome bird to see in December.

Lesser Crested Tern 





The Exe Estuary 




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