This morning we drove up to Amble for the Sunday market on the harbour (my excuse). The view towards Warkworth castle is very peaceful. I joined a couple of local birders who were quick to point out the adult Caspian Gull which has frequented the river for some time now. The yellow ring on its leg showed the gull to be of Polish origin apparently. There was little else in the harbour at this time but I couldn't resist one of the Eiders. Tern Roost at Newbiggin.
The highlight of the weekend was my search for Roseate Terns which, apart from a distant flypast at Spurn, is a tern I rarely come across. Roseate Terns breed on Coquet Island, off Amble. Throughout the weekend many terns were in the bay, including Sandwich, Common and a few Arctic. In the late afternoon, a roost begins to form on the rocks at the North end of the beach and it was here I hoped to find some Roseates. Amongst the constant calling between adults and juvenile terns of various species, I occasionally heard the 'che-wit' call of Roseate Tern. Settling myself under the low cliff, I scanned the tern flock and spent a magical couple of hours on tern behaviour. Comments are closed.
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