Back at the start of April this year a Forster's Tern had been found by a dedicated patch watcher at a small reservoir in Somerset. The bird only stayed for a few hours before disappearing. Just over two weeks later presumably the same bird appeared again, this time at Poole Harbour in Dorset. The Tern remained in the area for a month but was difficult to see and sightings were very sporadic. For some reason we never made the trip, probably because there was always something else that seemed easier to twitch at the time but also because the bird had chosen to roost at Brownsea Island which involves a boat ride to reach and expensive landing fees imposed by the National Trust to visit. On the 15th July the first-summer bird was found again at Lychett Fields on the outskirts of Poole but for the following week was as elusive as it had ever been. Then, thankfully, the Forster's Tern settled into an established pattern whereby it would visit a roosting spot at Shipstal Point, part of the RSPB's reserve at Arne. Now birders were able to connect with the Tern much more readily. So on Saturday the 29th we finally travelled down the dreaded A34 & M3 to take our chance of adding what would be a lifer to our list.
The Forster's Tern had already been reported as being present when we left home just after seven o'clock that morning. The drive would take around two and a quarter hours and I thought it would be pretty easy going on quiet roads. And it was, all plain sailing, until we neared Bournemouth and the traffic suddenly became very congested and we slowed to a crawl. I know that we are all constantly complaining about traffic but I'm intelligent to know that I'm part of that problem so shouldn't really be moaning about it but I do wonder where everybody else is going and why do they have to be on the road in front of me. I also know that they're unlikely to be travelling to the place where I'm going to. Anyway it took us almost an hour and a half to travel the last fifteen miles or so, and by the time we reached Arne it was already half past ten!
Luckily the Tern was still being reported so we'd hopefully connect with it without any trouble. The walk to Shipstal Point takes around twenty minutes and we were making good progress until I glanced behind me to see how Mrs Caley was doing, just in time to see her head butt the floor! She had stumbled over one of the many tree roots that lay across the path and had lost balance and hit the deck. Unfortunately her nose took the brunt of the floor and the bridge of it was now bleeding from where it had grazed the rough track. Obviously this stopped us in our tracks and I felt bad for maybe walking too briskly for her to keep up. It's far too easy to get over excited when pursuing a life tick. Fortunately a kind gent was following us and he luckily had a first-aid kit in his rucksack. Some antiseptic cream and a couple of plasters sorted Mrs Caley's nose out but she'd be bruised and in pain for a while. Steadfastly she decided to carry on rather than go for a sit down and a drink in the cafe. My wife is a good soldier.
Just after Mrs Caley had taken her fall, we met a couple of friends of ours who were returning from seeing the bird. They told us it had left the roost but was fishing in the channel and was giving great views, almost flying over their heads at times. We reached the beach ten minutes later and there was no sign of the Tern. Curse our luck!
We'd been told that the Forster's Tern had consistently flown up and down the channel so was "sure" to be back. I looked at my phone and saw that the time was eleven-twenty, the bird had last been reported almost an hour before but Steph and Rob had told us that it had still been present just twenty-minutes ago. We sat on one of the conveniently placed benches that overlooked the channel. I was concerned for my wife who had developed a headache but she said that she felt ok otherwise. It was a warm day too and we were sat in quite a sun trap with no shade. Luckily we had some painkillers in the bag. An hour passed with no sign of the target bird.
I must have scanned the roosting Terns and Gulls a hundred times and every passing bird was scrutinised as well. Other birders were present of course but all those that had seen the Forster's Tern earlier understandably drifted away. A chap joined us and we chatted about past twitches, especially those that ended in dips since this one wasn't going to plan, and year listing amongst other things. Another hour passed with little happening apart from the identity of a few juvenile Common Terns being questioned. We saw three Whimbrel fly in and rest for a while and then leave noisily. I found a couple of smart Bar-tailed Godwits in amongst the more numerous Black-tailed variety but because of the heat shimmer didn't bother trying to gain even record shots. At half-past two we began to question our own sanity in even bothering to twitch birds.
Rob and his son Thomas, who we've met many times over the past few years arrived. Rob told us that it was their fifth attempt to see the Forster's Tern, all of their four previous tries ending in failure. And I thought I was unlucky! At least we could recount a few successful twitches that we'd met each other at.
Another hour passed and the Clash song, "Should we stay or should we go now" was buzzing around my head. I checked and rechecked previous timings of sightings of the Tern and tide times to see if there was a pattern. There wasn't. The tides are so minimal within the harbour that birds wouldn't be affected by them unless feeding outside on the coast. The Forster's Tern could be seen at just about any time of day. Every time a birder left through boredom, our own expectation levels rose a little because of the "five minute rule", that period when a bird is sure to turn up after someone leaves. It's a myth obviously, but it must have worked at least once for it to have become "a thing" that is always mentioned at twitches. I'm not sure that rule would ever apply to us though, since it never seems to work in our favour. However, I'm superstitious enough to not voluntarily leave a stakeout for a bird unless I really have to. That "you should have waited another five minutes" rule would definitely apply to us!
Around four o'clock a few new birders arrived, presumably because they'd had better things to do all day. Some birders exhibit outrageous good luck and I was hoping that at least one of the newcomers who were now excitedly going through the same Terns that I'd scrutinised a hundred times already, were blessed with the Midas touch. As I was dwelling on that thought, it happened! A young chap shouted, 'What's this flying in from the left?' I was onto the bird in a shot and couldn't quite believe it. It was the Forster's Tern! After almost five hours of patient, and sometimes very impatient, waiting we had our bird. The Tern flew low over the water and made a beeline straight towards the other roosting birds. I held the camera up and semi-focused on the bird just as it stalled and rose above the water, presumably looking for a spot in which to land. It banked back around and then settled in amongst the other birds. My shots weren't great but I'd gotten my record.
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| Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) |
Everybody present was now greatly excited, our varying waits were over and we all got as close as we could to the waters edge to try for better views and photos. I collected Mrs Caley and the scope and focused that on the Tern so that she could get better views for herself. The bird was very distinctive with a black patch around each eye in an otherwise all white plumage apart from a black wedge at the end of each wing.
The Forster's Tern had landed about fifty metres away which is right on the limit of my lens. The Tern spent a few minutes preening, brushing up after a long day fishing somewhere around the harbour. The two black patches over the eyes lent it from the front on, a look of a very wide parting, reminiscent of Max Wall or indeed, Old Caley!
Initially I had trouble capturing the bird in profile but after a few minutes the Tern settled down. There was good, direct comparison with fellow resting Sandwich and Common Terns, and Black-headed Gulls. After all the careful scrutiny of every Common Tern, especially the juveniles, and trying to turn one into the Forster's Tern, now that the real article was stood on the spit there was no doubt at all as to its identity and I wondered why folk got so excited when seeing birds that were clearly not it. I guess we all have to gain the views, to gain the experience, in order to identify birds correctly. Practise in the field is far better than leafing through guidebooks.
The Forster's Tern then rewarded our lengthy wait for it to appear by tucking its head into its nape and going to sleep. There didn't seem to be much point in hanging around any longer, we'd gotten our bird even if I didn't get the photos that others had managed earlier. It was our second twitch in just over a week for a true mega bird that hadn't quite gone to plan but the outcome was that we had added both target birds to our life lists so, after allowing the dust to settle, there are definitely no complaints from me. The Old Caley life list nudged up to 412.
Year List addition;
272) Forster's Tern
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