Rare Tern at Local Nature Reserve

Attenborough Nature Reserve lies in the Trent Valley just over the Derbyshire border in Nottinghamshire. It is an excellent reserve and often picks up some good rarities during the year. I remember the 12th December 2004, when along with three of my birding pals, we identified Nottinghamshires first SORA RAIL (see also BLOG Categories – Year 2004) on Clifton Pit here at Attenborough. So the recent arrival of a juvenile White-winged Black Tern was no great surprise and an opportunity not to be missed, only half an hours drive from home.

So Saturday afternoon, 7th September, I nipped across to Attenborough to take a look at the bird. The tern was feeding over a wide range of the large sailing pit near to the visitors centre. It was often distant and I only managed a few record shots. The best place to view the bird was unfortunately directly into sunlight so this made photography very difficult. There was also a juvenile Black Tern and several Common Tern on the same pit, allowing direct comparison at times as the bird flew alongside the Black Tern on a few occasions. Year list has moved on to 225.

Above five images – Juvenile White-winged Black Tern – Attenborough NR, Notts – 7th September 2013 – Tony Davison©