Caspian Tern is a species which I have failed to catch up with in the UK... Well, I'd never actually tried, so when two birds recently turned up in Lincolnshire I couldn't resist the temptation to twitch.
The Caspian Tern is a species with a scattered global distribution, occurring on most continents. Per county, Norfolk has hosted the overall most British records of this species (48) closely followed by Suffolk (44). The two birds which have recently been in the UK (at least one still is), one of which is ringed (origin currently unknown as far as I know), have both been seen together at Gibraltar Point (Lincs.) with one bird occasionally commuting to Middlemarsh Farm (Lincs.) and the ringed bird currently residing at Breydon Water (Norfolk). Where they spend the rest of their time remains a mystery...
Saturday 18th June saw me arriving at Gibraltar Point NNR mid-afternoon, where at least one of the two birds had been seen in the morning. Arriving in the hide there was initially no sign of either Caspian Terns, but after a tense wait of around half an hour, one of the birds (the unringed individual) flew in at 15:08 and landed on the scrape for all to enjoy. I watched it here for about forty minutes, where it sat happily on Tennyson's Sands, before I departed. A beast of a bird, and one I am glad I have seen.
Happy birding! Max.
The Caspian Tern is a species with a scattered global distribution, occurring on most continents. Per county, Norfolk has hosted the overall most British records of this species (48) closely followed by Suffolk (44). The two birds which have recently been in the UK (at least one still is), one of which is ringed (origin currently unknown as far as I know), have both been seen together at Gibraltar Point (Lincs.) with one bird occasionally commuting to Middlemarsh Farm (Lincs.) and the ringed bird currently residing at Breydon Water (Norfolk). Where they spend the rest of their time remains a mystery...
Saturday 18th June saw me arriving at Gibraltar Point NNR mid-afternoon, where at least one of the two birds had been seen in the morning. Arriving in the hide there was initially no sign of either Caspian Terns, but after a tense wait of around half an hour, one of the birds (the unringed individual) flew in at 15:08 and landed on the scrape for all to enjoy. I watched it here for about forty minutes, where it sat happily on Tennyson's Sands, before I departed. A beast of a bird, and one I am glad I have seen.
Happy birding! Max.
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