I took the opportunity to have another attempt to nail the Forster’s Tern that has been frequenting Arne RSPB at Shipstall Point. The bird seems to be a morning bird with fewer reports in the evening. I have visited at various times around high tide and had failed to see the bird therefore I changed tact and visited on a receding tide.
It appears I missed the bird by around ten minutes this morning so another patient wait ensued. There were not many terns in the channel but whilst scanning I noticed a dark billed smaller tern fishing off the tide line. It was smaller than a Sandwich Tern and had a more flickering flight pattern than a Common Tern. I put the guy I was chatting to onto the bird whilst I put the camera to work.
The Forster’s Tern spent fifteen minutes flying up and down the channel stopping intermittently to dive on an unsuspecting fish meal! The tidy black mask was obvious against the white head. I small wave of folk appeared along the beach soon after the bird’s departure from the area!
This is my second Forster's Tern in the UK. The first I saw on the River Stour at Mistley Essex on 20th November 2016.
I’m certain it will be seen again in the area but it has no fixed time slot to when it appears! The best route is to walk through the main car park and entrance to the reserve following the track up the hill turning right at the sign-post to Shipstall Coastline. The walk is about a mile mainly on gravel track.
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