A colour ringed Elegant Tern was discovered in the tern colony at Church Norton, West Sussex on the 10th June, staying until at least the 18th June, when I saw it. It was first discovered at Hayling Island on the 7th June. The bird was identified as BIrd C, one that had been colour ringed in France at Banc d’ Arguin. Three orange billed terns were DNA processed from the Sandwich Tern colony at Banc d’ Arguin and were all confirmed as pure Elegant Terns. This bird, from the colour rings, could be individually identified as one of the the three, Bird C, making it Britain’s first Elegant Tern. It was a very hot day when RichardJ, Ian and myself made the trip down to Church Norton. As it turned out we picked the wrong day, we got mixed-up in the London to Brighton Bike Rally. What a nightmare. We eventually arrived late morning after almost 6 hours on the road. Plenty of heat haze by this time, making photography almost impossible. Nevertheless, the bird showed well during the time we watched it and gave excellent views through the scope. A new bird for me, a British Tick and the year list moved on to 202.
Elegant Tern – above 2 images – Church Norton, West Sussex – June 18th 2017 – Tony Davison©
