This Black Tern was present on Gunwade Lake at Ferry Meadows CP in Peterborough today and is another `tick` on my PBC year list. As is normal at the moment, the rain was falling down and the sky was as black as night, but I managed to get this `record` shot of a bird that is an annual visitor to the Peterborough area.
The Black Tern does not breed in the U.K., but is seen on passage in Spring and Autumn on its way to and from breeding grounds which range from Denmark to Spain and east Russia to Asia. The American Black Tern (currently classed as a sub-species) breeds in North America. European birds winter along the coast of West Africa.
A lovely bird, that is not done justice by the above photo!
Glad you were able to add a new 'tick' onto your PBC year list! Whether or not it was a perfect photo, shouldn't matter as much as being there at the moment to enjoy it's presence.
ReplyDeleteHi Wanda,
DeleteYou are, of course right. The weather wasn`t great, but the bird was.
J
A very nice sighting John.
ReplyDeleteHi Jan,
DeleteYes, glad to get it on my year list!
J
Lovely to get another one ticked off the list .
ReplyDeleteMark
Hi Mark,
DeleteThank you, yes, maybe this year I will break the 180 mark for the area.
Thanks for the visit.
J
Nice! I have not been lucky enough to see the American Black Tern.
ReplyDeleteHi Tammy,
DeleteWe did have one visit in Lincolnshire last year, I didn`t go for it, but perhaps I should have done.
J
A very good capture John.
ReplyDeleteHi Roy,
DeleteI wouldn`t say that, but thank you.
J
Wow, she must have had a difficult time laying that egg!
ReplyDeleteIncidentally John, there was a lovely play on BBC Radio Four last week about a prisoner-of-war who spent his time bird-watching. If you are interested you can probably hear it on BBC iPlayer. It's called 'Through the Wire' and I think it's a true story and it can be heard only for the next three or four days.
Click here for Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
Hi Bazza,
DeleteYes, it must have bought a tear to her eye!
I have heard of that play, somewhere in the back of mind I remember reading about it. I will endeavour to catch up with it, thank you.
J
A rather lovely shot. Heavy rain and dark clouds do seem to be the order of the day at the moment, even here in Cornwall.
ReplyDeleteHi cuby poet,
DeleteThank you. Yes, it hasn`t stopped raining again today, I really have had enough now!
J