OK, let's see what turns up - BY 2021

[Soukous]

I'm struggling to ID this one. Thinking Meadow Pipit, but not sure

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Soukous

[Galana]

9 hours ago, Soukous said:

Thinking Meadow Pipit, but not sure

Fine by me!

[Soukous]

Not much BY activity from me lately. 

Partly because I have not made many excursions and partly because I've not found anything new on the few occasions I have gone looking. 

The Little Tern colony is keeping my occupied though. Finally we have nesting Terns.

Most of the Ringed Plover eggs have hatched, and yesterday we were not quick enough to prevent a Kestrel from snatching a chick.  The Kestrel was so focused on grabbing a chick that it stayed on the ground even though there were people walking within 10 metres of it.

 

We have nesting Avocets (4 eggs) which is unusual as they normally nest in colonies. But this pair have decided that our Tern enclosure is the place for them.

7 Little Tern nests now, which is many fewer than we would have expected. We've only got about 50 LT flying around so even if they all pair up and nest, we'll still be well below expectations.

 

Great fun trying to photograph them - boy they are quick - and watching the courting behaviour on the foreshore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

just to explain; a key part of the mating ritual involves the male bring a fish for the female. If she accepts it they pair up. 

 

 

[Galana]

Some lovely portraits of Little Terns there. Well done.

 

Would you have really intervened with the Kestrel?

[xelas]

Stunning photography, Martin!

[pedro maia]

Great pictures!!

[PeterHG]

Brilliant series of the Little Terns, Martin!

[Soukous]

16 hours ago, Galana said:

Would you have really intervened with the Kestrel?

 

RSPB guidelines for this particular job prefer us to intervene if it means protecting the species we are 'wardening'.

I have no problem shooing away gulls and crows but I rather like Kestrels, and they are also an 'at risk' species.

What they normally do is to try and set up 'diversionary feeding' to help keep the Kestrels away.

 

To be completely honest this is giving me quite an insight into the inefficient way the RSPB tackles projects like this. They are well intentioned but not great at planning.

We have just 7 LT nests on our site so far. 2 miles down the coast there is another site, which is looked after by Natural England where there are more than 100 LT at the moment. There seems to be no co-ordination between the 2. 

[michael-ibk]

Stunning Terns! 

[Galana]

5 hours ago, Soukous said:

RSPB guidelines for this particular job prefer us to intervene if it means protecting the species we are 'wardening'.

Oooh. That is very controversial and goes against everything we are told. Intervention should only be done when the problem is man made. i.e Man can remedy a problem he has created. We should not intervene in a natural predation or you are denying the predator who may well be more endangered.

Even re-reading your post and now thinking the Kestrel took a Ringed Plover chick does not make it easier.

I know Minsmere lost a lot of Avocets to Badgers a few years ago and it is OK to fence against them but 'bird on bird' is different. (Exceptions made for Hoodies and Gulls but even then it is morally dubious.)

[Soukous]

18 hours ago, Galana said:

That is very controversial and goes against everything we are told.

 

It also goes against what I was told at the outset when I asked that specific question about predation by other birds. I was told, 'just record it'.

 

I don't know whether this desire to intervene to help a species that is being 'protected' is simply to ensure that there is something left to protect. The preferred tactic with Kestrels is diversionary feeding, but this takes a lot of setting up and is labour intensive to maintain

[Soukous]

 

I did not shoot this video, it was one of my colleagues.

[Galana]

Very nice. The poor chap at 0.29 needs to brush up his technique.

[elefromoz]

Lovely shots of the Little Terns and their behaviours

[michael-ibk]

Cool video. Nice to see so many Little Terns, they are very rare stragglers here.

[Soukous]

this is a bit sad / worrying

 

Arctic Terns abandon famous Farne Islands colony

 

https://www.birdguides.com/news/arctic-terns-abandon-famous-farne-islands-colony/

 

I don't quite understand why there have been no resident wardens for the past 2 years. Surely it is one of the safest places to be in a pandemic.

[Galana]

Just another instance of the current malaise affecting the once great National Trust. Time for change at the top.

 

I share your bewilderment at the 'excuse' that wardens could not be found to reside there.

Don't worry too much about the Terns. Nature usually wins, with a little help from her friends. Worry about the land ownership.

[PeterHG]

12 hours ago, Soukous said:

Arctic Terns abandon famous Farne Islands colony

That is certainly sad. 

[Kitsafari]

marvellous series of terns! and i did enjoy that little video clip. 

 

Was there a reason given for the huge gap in nestings between the two reserves, particularly since they are only 2 miles apart? 

 

[Soukous]

On 6/13/2021 at 7:16 AM, Kitsafari said:

marvellous series of terns! and i did enjoy that little video clip. 

 

Was there a reason given for the huge gap in nestings between the two reserves, particularly since they are only 2 miles apart? 

 

The Little Terns fly over here from West Africa every year and look for nest sites. They choose them, not us. They seem to come back to the group of same sites each year but not necessarily the exact same one. The sites to the north & south of ours have much higher numbers. 

It seems to be something to do with the prevailing weather at the time they choose to pair up and nest. 

The other sites have much less human disturbance so that is probably also a factor. 

[lmSA84]

Lovely shots of the Little Terns and the video!
 

I tried photographing Little Terns in the Algarve recently and frankly I had to give up ! So I have a new found appreciation for how good yours are 

[Soukous]

It feels a bit strange to be sitting in fron tof my computer again after a wonderful 2 weeks roaming the wilds of Scotland, but all good things come to an end, and the need for a washing machine was getting more urgent.

 

Due to Covid restrictions, most self catering accommodations won't let you check in util 4pm, so there was no need to rush on my way north. A quick check of the weather forecast showed that it would be a sunny morning at Bempton Cliffs. It would add a few hours to my travelling time but I haven't been there for a couple of years so I was keen to make a quick visit.

It should not have come as a surprise that the weather forecast turned out to be wrong. It was grey and overcast. Even so, there are few better places to see Gannets close up and the cliffs make a wonderful vantage point to watch, and photograph, them in flight.

 

 

 

#96 Gannet - Morus bassanus

Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire. June 2021

 

 

 

 

 

[Soukous]

Gannets are not the only seabirds tobe found at Bempton Cliffs. There are Puffins, although I did not explore widely enough to find them, Kittiwakes

 

 

Guillemots

 

#97 Guillemot - Uria aalge

Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire. June 2021

 

 

I also saw Guillemots out to sea during the ferry journey from Uig to Lochmaddy, North Uist

 

[Soukous]

#98 Razorbill - Alca torda

Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire. June 2021

 

Another of the birds found on the cliffs

 

 

The only other 'new' species I saw during my brief visit at Bempton was a rather distant Barn Owl

 

#99 Barn Owl - Tyto alba

 

Had I been there a week later, I migth have been lucky enough to see the Albatross that paid a visit and stayed for 3 days

[Zim Girl]

Looking forward to hearing how you got on in Scotland  @Soukous