Showing posts with label sandwich tern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sandwich tern. Show all posts

Sunday 17 June 2012

Sandwich Terns


I was out ringing sandwich terns last week, as well as reading rings in the field. This was all part of a study organised by Grampian Ringing Group, and focused on the tern colony at the Sands of Forvie nature reserve  at Newburgh in Scotland.



One of the birds we read the colour ring number on, had been sighted in Namibia in February, and several others were birds reared at the colony over the past twelve years.

Many birds were flying in with fish, so I tried to capture as many of these as possible, to identify what prey they were feeding on. This could prove useful in future if the fish stocks change and effect the birds' breeding performance.



And as the evening light was so good I took some illustrative shots of the birds.




The whole experience was wonderful, such a busy, noisy, spectacle.