Within five minutes birders started arriving and most of them made a bee line to me for directions. Caspian Tern Sterna caspia 24 Feb 2006 Djerba, Tunisia. Whixhall Moss, Shropshire, 46. White-faced Darter – 27th May 2012 Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck. by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006. Red-breasted Merganser – 22nd November 2020, 124. Needs Ore, Hampshire – 22nd August 2016, 19. It looked very out of place on this muddy reservoir. Terns are medium to large seabirds - the smallest tern being the Least Tern, weighing 1.5 oz (42 g) and measuring 9 inches (23 cm), to the largest -- the Caspian Tern, weighing 1.4 lbs (630 g) and measuring 21 inches (53 cm). It continued southwards and wasn’t seen again. Caspian terns look very similar to common terns, the main differences being their tail is less forked, their beakers are thicker with a deep coral red color, and they are much larger. Spotted this Caspian Tern fishing at dusk. ( Log Out /  Rare vagrant to the UK & Ireland. The Sternidae occur near fresh and salt water throughout Europe but are most common near large bodies of water. Species . It is most likely to occur from May to September. The Caspian Tern is the largest tern species in the world. The length of the Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia) varies from 47 to 54 cm long (Crampe, 1985) with a body mass of 530-782g (Quinn, 1990; Cuthbert and Wires, 1999).The adult Caspian Tern has a bright red bill usually with black shading at the tip. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. I will sort this out asap. This took me to where the River Test flows into Southampton Water. (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). Most of the UK birds are likely to be birds that breed in the Baltic perhaps Finland or Sweden. Caspian tern A very rare migrant from eastern and southern Europe, this tern is the size of a large gull with a red bill. Barbut’s Cuckoo Bumblebee (B barbutellus) Rufous Grasshopper Collared Flycatcher – 2nd May 2009 So, as you can imagine, many local and not-so-local birders would have liked it to stick around a while! Common Groundhopper I was within 100 yards of home when  a message came through that the Caspian Tern had been relocated at Eling Tide Mill! Terns range in size from the least tern, at 23 cm (9.1 in) in length and weighing 30–45 g (1.1–1.6 oz), to the Caspian tern at 48–56 cm (19–22 in), 500–700 g (18–25 oz). Caspian Tern. Short-winged Conehead A lot of my excitement also comes from the hope that I may get some good field sketches. Scientific name: Hydroprogne caspia Length: 18.5 – 21.3 in Weight: 18.7 – 27.6 oz Wingspan: 49.6 – 50.4 in. Gait Barrows, Lancashire, 42. They stay with their parents for long periods of time, and are fed by them even on the wintering grounds. The BTO Conference 2020 will be virtual. I parked in the free car park on the south side of Bartley Water and walked east checking Bartley Water for a large tern as I went. White-throated Sparrow – 25th October 2002 Post them up mate or in here, always love to see other shots of them. For another 15 minutes it showed well although a little distantly, sleeping occasionally. It hovers above water before diving and mainly feeds on fish. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use Terns are web-footed birds with long, rather slim wings. Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire, 445. Join us for a series of talks and panels. I hadn’t expected to be sketching again today and I regretted the two red bulls I had drunk earlier. Godrevy, Cornwall, 438. Larger than the typical terns of the Forster's / Common sort, but distinctly smaller than Royal or Caspian terns. The conservation status for this species is "Amber' in the UK because it is a species of concern in Europe. Sandscale Haws, Cumbria, 43. It will pursue, attack, and chase potential predatory birds and humans. It would be my 4th in the UK, after one at Minsmere in May 1987 and an adult and 1st winter together at Ferrybridge in September 1991. To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. Caspian Tern Royal Tern Lesser-crested Tern Cabot's Tern Elegant Tern Aleutian Tern Forster's Tern Bridled Tern Sooty Tern Whiskered Tern White-winged Tern. In the UK, Isle of Man, and Ireland, the Caspian Tern is a very rare migrant with around five records per year on average. Lower Broome Platform, St Mary’s, Scilly, 440. Dune Helleborine – 6th July 2017 (If a bird is on the west side of the channel at Thornham Harbour its in the Holme parish) The Caspian Tern then flew north over the marsh and then west along the dune ridge to 'Thornham Point' and out of sight at 10.53am. Populations of the Little Tern (and the related Least Tern of North America) have been especially hard hit by these factors and have thus become species of conservation concern in many areas. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird. [31] [32] They are longer-billed, lighter-bodied, and more streamlined than gulls, and their long tails and long narrow wings give them an elegance in flight. In the UK, Isle of Man, and Ireland, the Caspian Tern is a very rare migrant with around five records per year on average. Blackpoll Warbler – 7th October 2005 The best bird guide and bird watching search engine to identify My first Caspian Tern was at Welney, but this one was much closer views and is also now on my Holme and Titchwell list! This fantastic wetland site is located north of Southport town centre and has some of the best wildlife in the region. Marsh terns and noddies are generally darker in coloration. Cilburn Moss, Cumbria, 45. Hartslock, Oxfordshire – 15th August 2016, Follow birding with a sketchbook on WordPress.com. (Note, the one on St Mary’s was reported within 30 mins of this sighting both before and after and so this would represent a different individual -Ed) It swoops and dives for small, schooling fish, its extra-long tail fluttering behind it. Basingstoke Canal, Hampshire, 31. Pic on Holland Haven … Prior to that one was at the Eric Morecambe Pools in 2005. The database contains 2 4, 7 7 9 photos of 2, 3 1 4 species. Its large coral red bill makes it one of the most easily identified terns throughout its worldwide range. Vagrant Emperor – 15th February 2019 Part of the excitement comes from the thought that I might miss the bird by a few minutes, a stomach churning feeling I’m all too familiar with. The conservation status for this species is "Amber' in the UK because it is a species of concern in Europe. 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