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| This first picture taken on the 4th October, 2006 shows the presumed arctic tern, with dark legs on this individual which suggests roseate tern. This being a juvenile bird, it makes it tougher to Id thanks to a tricky head pattern. Notice here in the forehead there is a lot of white. Apart from darkish grey primaries the wings are a uniform grey colour which I think suggests that it is a 2nd calender year bird. |
| This next picture was taken on the 17th October, 2006 a full two weeks later. It is undoubtedly the same bird and I saw it a couple of times in between these dates as well. An interesting change from the first picture is the amount of white on the forehead which seems to be diminishing. Note forked tail streamers. |
| The 3rd picture, to the right, was taken on the 24th October, 2006 and at last the tern did more than perch. It is pretty tame and does not fly easily even when disturbed by dogs or local birders!! You get a lovely sense of the soft feathers which protrude under its wings. Still less white on the forehead, it might be beginning to moult into adult plumage. Compare the darkish grey on the mantle to the white underwing feathers. |
| I was really pleased with this flight shot as it performed more today (24th still). It took off from its favourite perch and went fishing. It showed its long tail streamers well compared with the rather short wings. Similar to arctic in flight but sadly it didn't call once. |
| Finally here is the Arctic perched at the northern shore where it rests amongst fishermen's tents. This picture shows a good profile of the shortish beak and dark legs which aren't long enough for roseate. Get yourself down there soon as it should hopefully hang around for a little while yet before its long migration down to W.Africa. If you need directions take a look at the 'Places to Visit' page. |
| ***News Flash*** - Several people have got back to me on this bird and all opinions point towards Arctic - My Mistake! I'll leave the article up for a read though. |
| This is just a short photographical article on the features of the possible Roseate Tern at Argal Reservoir. The bird has been present since at least the 4th October 2006 and originally posted as an arctic tern (because it was!!) |
| Arctic tern juveniles also apparently have black legs and the bill isnt long enough for roseate. The wings are also too dark for roseate which are noted for pale the colour. |
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