Sooty Tern on the Ythan Estuary ... 26th July

The seemingly random and wholly unpredictable wanderings of the Sooty Tern that was first seen on the Brownsman on 7th July offered little hope of seeing the bird ... it was again seen on the Inner Farne on the 19th July and at Long Nanny that same day ...

The following day it was on the Ythan Estuary where it was seen intermittently while going missing for long periods of time over the following six days ...

On the 26th July I turned up on the estuary where the bird had been seen about half an hour before ... waiting there in the beautiful surroundings was no burden ... the breeding terns there provided constant interest and the surprisingly small group of birders were good company ... and after an hour and a half the Sooty Tern flew by and landed on a grassy island as the tide rose ...

... among a group of mixed gulls it preened and wing-stretched ...

... as the tide rose the island diminished while we retreated from the widening channel as the water lapped around feet and tripod legs ...

Then the tern flew and circled around almost overhead to give spectacular views ...

... it dropped in again among the gulls ...

... then as the island disappeared beneath the water it flew out towards the sea ...

... a brilliant experience !