Originally this posting was going to be combined with Part 1, but it would have been too lengthy so I spit it into two parts. The two parts combined together give meaning to the title since each part is based around a particular species of Tern.
We had stayed at the Purdy Lodge next to the A1 at Belford and had enjoyed a relaxed evening after our long drive and boat trips of the previous day. The only disappointment was that we didn't hear any Quail singing in the large wheat field that lay outside our room window. Not that we expected to of course but it would have been nice. As it happened, our wishful thinking would actually come to fruition later in the day, so stay tuned. I had chosen to stay near Belford because from there it is only a fifteen minute drive to High Newton-by-the-Sea where you can park to visit the Long Nanny Tern colony. We had already been to the area this year, to twitch the first ever Grey-headed Lapwing found in the UK. You can read about that weekend during which we also drove to Fife to add another two birds to our life lists here.
So after an early and very fine breakfast, we parked up at Newton Steads carpark before eight o'clock. We did the same excursion last year to see the American Black Tern that had taken up summer residence within the primarily Arctic Tern colony, and you can view the account of that visit here. The Tern had returned again this summer and although a little less reliable since being rediscovered, it had been seen regularly over the preceding week so we were confident that we'd bag it for our year list once again.
Last year we had visited on a warm afternoon, hadn't known the way and had walked much further than we needed to. This time we would be sure to beat just about everyone else to the tiny viewpoint and would go directly to it, thus saving energy for the drive up to Speyside later in the day. The walk through the dunes takes you through prime grassland which is packed with Meadow Pipits and Skylarks. The Northumberland coast still has lots of common birds and reminds me of a time when there were lots in Oxfordshire too. That memory is becoming rather distant now though. I stopped a few times to photograph some Skylarks which proved that they don't just deliver their delightful songs when in flight, and quite happy to serenade from a bush or the ground.
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| Skylark (Alauda arvensis) |
We were at the Warden's Hut overlooking the Tern colony by twenty past eight. Arctic Terns were everywhere although I felt that numbers seemed to be down on last year. An assistant warden told us later however, that numbers of nests were actually up on the previous year. Goes to show that appearances can be deceiving sometimes. Ten minutes of scanning the colony and the air and sea didn't reveal the American Black Tern however. I did find a few Little Terns, new for the year, sat resting on the sands of the Long Nanny burn mouth. Last year a couple of Little Terns graced us with a flypast, there wouldn't be a recurrence this year though. I resisted the temptation to take long distance and useless shots of the birds resting on the beach.
I remained confident that the American Black Tern would indulge us, and it was only ten minutes later when I spotted it flying in from the South. It flew right past the viewpoint before I had time to prime the camera correctly, returned going back the other way and dived into the marram right in front of us but landed out of view. I managed to grab a couple of images as it flew back. I count the bird on my year list although I realise that it's the North American counterpart and a subspecies of (European) Black Tern. It's my list.
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| American Black Tern (Chlidonias niger surinamensis) |
While we couldn't see the Black Tern, I watched the antics of the Arctic Terns that nest right next to the hut. I spent more time watching than photographing because I'd been here before and didn't need many more photos of the Arctic Terns. I did try to photograph one of the chicks though but that was tricky because of the grass stems and because the adults kept their offspring hidden for most of the time.
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| Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) |
Only ten minutes passed before the American Black Tern (ABT) flew into view again. Once more from our right as we looked eastwards towards the sea. This time the Tern put on a display for a good few minutes, flying up and down over the colony and affording extremely good views. It took me a while but eventually I began to tune in with the camera and gain some better photos, although still not as good as they should have been. We were generally viewing the bird against the light. The Tern rewarded my efforts by flying straight out to sea!
We were joined at the viewpoint by one of the volunteers who do a sterling job in looking after the colony. When we here last year we witnessed at first hand the efforts they put in to protecting the nesting Terns when two volunteers had to drive off an unwanted incursion onto the estuary by four people and two dogs. There is plenty of signage on both sides of the Long Nanny burn to indicate to folk that they should stay out of the area and yet some still choose to ignore the warnings. Maybe they couldn't read. I gladly added a few quid to the donation box.
It had been twenty minutes since the ABT had flown out to sea. We heard it before we saw it flying in from the south, the direction it always appears from. It announced its return by uttering its toy-trumpet bi-syllabic call. I thought it translated a bit like, 'I'm here, I'm here!' When the bird flew past we could see that it was carrying a fish, it continued, 'Got fish, got fish!'
The Tern continued to fly back and forth above the dunes and frequently flew right past the wardens hut and sometimes right over it. It continued to call so even if it couldn't be seen we knew where it was and if it was coming towards us. The subtle differences of the plumage between the American and European Black Terns is discussed and summarised brilliantly in a BirdGuides article here but essentially the ABT is "blacker" throughout its body and that contrasts more with the paler wings, particularly the underwing. The ABT also has a white leading edge to the wings which is very noticeable.
Apparently this is the fourth summer that the ABT has spent in the Long Nanny Tern colony, for the first two years it had been reported as a European Black Tern, which would be a rare enough occurrence in itself. Plenty of Black Terns are seen in the UK every spring but one staying in a potential breeding area is extremely rare and a returning bird even more so. The local birders that questioned the birds origins were right on their game!
I had fantastic views and photographic opportunities last year, this year was just as good. My only grumble was that my arm started to ache from holding the camera aloft so much! The usual exposure problems had to be overcome, and my skills aren't the best, with the jet black bird against the lighter background of the sea and sky. The best photos of birds show the eye and highlights or reflection on it but it isn't always easy to see a black eye in a black head.
My best shots were achieved when the ABT flew lower and in front of the grass which gave a darker background, allowing for more contrast. Because the bird was always flying so close to us, the background always blurred right out so the sea and sky resulted in the same grey wash.
At times the ABT passed so closely past us that my camera grabs couldn't even catch the whole bird. I guess I should have zoomed out but of course you don't get time to think about stuff like that when photographing fast moving birds.
The ABT had flown around continually for fifteen minutes, and for all of that time it had carried its fish presumably in a vain attempt to attract one of the Arctic Terns attention. At times it almost felt as if it was offering the fish to us. The call, "Got fish, got fish" continued. As the Tern approached and flew directly towards us, I took one last volley of it in head-on profile. Those shots probably just about surpassed last years efforts that can be seen here.
The American Black Tern had obviously had enough of charging around and landed in an unseen spot on the beach. I took a few more photos of Arctic Terns and headed off. We'd been on site for just about an hour. As we left other folk began to arrive so from our point of view, having the Tern to ourselves had been a big bonus. There isn't too much room at the viewpoint.
A Linnet sang heartily from one of the ropes that separate the off limits sections from the path. It's not often that I get such a close view of one of our more common and familiar birds. A little further along the sandy walkway, a Meadow Pipit also adorned the rope. Both species are present in good numbers in the dunes and coastal belt of Northumberland.
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| Linnet (Linaria cannabina) |
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| Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) |
I paused on the way back to the car to photograph the field that the Grey-headed Lapwing graced five weeks before. Not sure why I did it but I guess it was for nostalgia. The bird was in the field beyond the cattle and we viewed from the trees on the left.
There was still time to aim the camera at some more Skylarks. It's hard to resist Skylarks when they're performing their song from on high. I've learned though that shooting them when they're high up is a waste of time. I now wait until they descend towards the ground or when they've just taken off and are in level flight.
Year List addition;
242) Little Tern, 243) American Black Tern
It was only ten o'clock when we left the carpark. I didn't have an onward plan except for the fact that we would eventually end up at our Speyside base by the end of the day. Last year we had struck gold by connecting with an amazingly confiding Ring-billed Gull near Crieff (read here). The same bird had been seen at Loch Turret three weeks before on a few days but hadn't been since for the last fortnight so there would be no repeat sighting this time. We stopped at a favourite cafe of ours in Beadnell and over a top-rate coffee checked the early bird news for the day. There wasn't too much happening in Northumberland but I noticed that some Quail had been heard singing just over the border close to Eyemouth which just happened to be on our route north.
We found the field and the track that ran beside it easily enough. I was able to park the car off the road right next to the entrance point. The track was actually the remains of an old road that was no longer used so walking was easy. I followed it to the pinpoint showed on BirdGuides passing a field that I remarked would be a great place for the Quail to be because it was vegetated with fairly short and patchy grass so there'd be a better than normal chance of actually seeing one rather than merely hearing their "wet-my-lips" song. Quail are a bird that are seldom seen owing to their liking for cereal fields and such like. I'd only ever seen a couple before and both were of flying birds. Because they are so hard to see, it is widely accepted that hearing them is a good enough record for any year list.
We reached the supposed spot about ten minutes walk from the car but hadn't heard any Quail at all. Ever since we had a Quail calling on the Oxon Downs a few years ago, which was so close we could hear the bird breathe, we had had no luck whatsoever with the small game bird and had blanked on them in the last two years.
We could hear Yellowhammers, Whitethroats and yet more Skylarks while we strained our ears for the distinctive call of the Quail. It was close to midday and fairly warm so wasn't the best time for Quail to be performing. We admired a Chiffchaff singing from a branch above us but still there was no sound of any Quail.
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| Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) |
We walked back to the car. Halfway back along the field that I fancied looked good for Quail, we were both suddenly stopped in our tracks. A Quail was singing. It was answered by another. Both were closer to our car than we were so we zeroed in on the approximate position of the birds. One was singing about a hundred metres away, down in the trough of the field. Typically the grass was thicker there. The other was actually singing from a field the other side of the road which had thick cereal growth. There would be no chance of seeing either bird unless they broke cover and that seemed unlikely. We listened for fifteen minutes or so, the Quails sang sporadically during that time, and then gave up, accepting the fact that we had at least heard some at last.
Year List addition;
244) Quail
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