Sandwich terns

19 Friday Sep 2025

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, British terns, Ferrybridge birding, RSPB Lodmoor, Sandwich tern, tern species

These beauties are the last of the birds I’ll share from my recent trip to Weymouth: Sandwich terns (Sterna sandvicensis). Though some tern species can be tricky to tell apart (Common and Arctic, in particular), with their yellow-tipped black beaks, black legs and black-capped heads, Sandwich terns are a bit more straight forward to identify.

~ Sandwich terns seen here with mostly Mediterranean gulls, Dunlin & Ringed plover

As you can perhaps see in my photos, the black cap on its head is not a permanent feature; it is fully black at the beginning of the breeding season but then quickly begins to develop white speckles above the eyes and, by the end of the summer, the whole of the forehead is white, making the ‘hair do’ resemble more of a monk’s tonsure. I guess the stress of raising young will do that, even to terns!

I didn’t know much about these birds but my guide book tells me that Sandwich terns breed in northern Europe (including in colonies around the coast of Britain), Russia and North America, then move south, which is when they can be seen in southern Britain, on passage to their wintering locations, mostly on the west coast of Africa.

If you’re wondering, as I was, about the origin of its name, in Fauna Britannica, Stefan Buczacki tells that ‘Its association with the town of Sandwich on the Kent coast dates back to 1785, when the naturalist John Latham was sent specimens collected from there by some local boys’.

The sea mouse

18 Thursday Sep 2025

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Calidris alpina, Dunlin, Ferrybridge birding

Having blogged twice already about my recent afternoon at Ferrybridge, between Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, it occurred to me to show you what it looks like. This photo was taken at the end of the couple of hours I spent there, by which time the tide was well out and the weather that was rolling in was looking quite ominous: time to beat a hasty retreat!

Today’s blog is about the third species I managed to get reasonably close to and spent quality time watching that afternoon, a cousin to the Sanderling and Knot, with which it shares the sandy shores and mud flats, the Dunlin (Calidris alpina).

The Dunlin has some wonderfully evocative vernacular names, according to my Fauna Britannica: ebb cock (by the Shetlanders), pickerel (Scotland, in general), sandy (Northumberland), sand mouse (Westmorland), and sea mouse (Dumfries and Lancashire), amongst many others. Each name suggests an image of the bird’s habit of scurrying back and forth along the sandy shores as it forages for tiny sea creatures.

Luckily for me, there were several Dunlin and Ringed plover foraging along the top of the beach when I arrived, and I managed to find a spot, crouched in the lee of a shed out of the blasting wind and camouflaged by some scrubby vegetation where I could spend time watching these wonderful little waders going about their business.

Though the Dunlin seems common and ubiquitous around the British coastline, its numbers are in serious decline here, with the BTO reporting a 24% decline in the over-wintering population between 1997 and 2022. So, although the bird is listed as of ‘least concern’ internationally, here in Britain it is red-listed. It would be a tragedy to lose this sublime little sea mouse so let’s hope its population somehow manages to recover.

King Canut’s favourite bird?

17 Wednesday Sep 2025

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Calidris canutus, Ferrybridge birding, Knot

My afternoon being battered by the strong winds at Ferrybridge also provided several other nice bird sightings, including these Knot (Calidris canutus).

I was intrigued by the epithet canutus in the bird’s scientific name; fortunately, Stefan Buczacki provides the answer in Fauna Britannica:

The name ‘Knot’ imitates the rather low, grunt-like call and dates back to the fifteenth century … there is a poorly founded belief that the name ‘Knot’ has some connection with King Canut and that the Knots were his favourite birds (hence Calidris canutus), presumably on the basis that they behave much as he did, foolishly playing around the tide-line.

The Knot is a relatively large wading bird – you can see a size comparison with a Dunlin in my first photograph. Both birds belong to the genus Calidris, a long list of waders that look rather alike and all breed in the high Arctic. We are fortunate to enjoy their presence during the winter months, when large flocks often form around parts of the British coastline. You can read more about the Knot on the BTO website.

Sanderlings, sand runners

16 Tuesday Sep 2025

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Calidris alba, Ferrybridge birding, Sanderling, Wild Chesil Centre

My plans for my days in and around Weymouth last week didn’t quite go as I expected due to the weather: we had a lot of heavy rain showers, and the westerly winds, especially on Thursday, were gale-force and relentless. Luckily, I had gone prepared, with full wet weather gear – I wasn’t going to let rain spoil my birding plans.

I knew from previous visits that the area in front of the Wild Chesil Centre, at Ferrybridge, on the causeway between Weymouth and the Isle of Portland, was a good place to look for birds, especially as autumn migration is well underway now in Britain. I checked that area on Tuesday afternoon, but the tide was already well out so the birds were too distant for me to see with binoculars.

So, on Thursday, after spending the morning at RSPB Lodmoor, I caught the bus to Ferrybridge around noon. Though I could barely stand up in the wind, my tide timing was perfect; as I walked from the bus stop to the Wild Chesil Centre, water was just starting to recede from the mud flats below the footpath, and already a little flock of 12 Turnstones and 2 Sanderling were foraging for any tiny sea creatures that were being exposed by the receding waters.

I admit to being a big fan of waders, which I seldom see in my local area, and I find the Sanderling (Calidris alba) especially attractive, both in looks and in habits; they forage by scurrying rapidly back and forth across the sand and mud. Though photographing these birds was a challenge – I had to wrap my arms around the railing adjacent to the footpath for stability, I managed to get some reasonably decent images of this pair and, though I was very close to them and they were certainly aware of my presence, they were intent on feeding and my photography didn’t disturb them. I clung to those railings for a good 15 minutes, watching their antics, their interaction with the Turnstones and each other, their feeding methods. It was quite magical!