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Tag Archives: sandwich tern

Catchers, a Duck and Divers

28 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by theresagreen in bird behaviour, birds of the seashore, Birdwatching on North Wales coast, coastal walks, Nature of Wales, nature photography, Rhos Point, Rhos-on-Sea, The Wales Coast Path, wading birds

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

Cormorant, Crows on seashore, gavia stellata, mergus serrator, migrant birds, mussel bed, Oystercatcher, phalacrocorax carbo, red-breasted merganser, red-throated diver, redshank, Rhos Point, ringed plover, sandwich tern

September 10th-A brilliant day for birds continued….

As the tide began to return to the shore, every exposed rock in Penrhyn Bay was occupied by beady-eyed Cormorants.

160910-rprc-cormorants-in-penrhyn-bay-1

Black-headed gulls also waited.

160910-rprc-black-headed-gulls-in-penrhyn-bay-2a

It seemed Rhos Point was the place to be for seabirds and waders today. In the time I have lived here I have never seen as many here all at once. I got there an hour or so before high tide, which is one of the best times to get close views of the birds waiting for their evening meal to be delivered. But as  there were also such a large number of terns and gulls swimming on the sea’s surface and flying low over it, there must have been fish there drawing them in, perhaps a shoal of small fish, sprats or whitebait¹.

The tideline at Rhos Point was crowded with Herring Gulls, Black-headed gulls and Sandwich Terns. A woman arrived with two dogs and stood and watched as they chased along close to the water’s edge, sending many of the birds skywards. I will resist having a rant about that, but it troubles me that people think it’s OK to allow their dogs to do that.

160910-rprc-rhos-point1a-upped-gulls-terns

Whilst waiting to see if the upped birds would return and re-settle I scanned along the sea edge to see what else might be waiting there. There were a whole host of Oystercatchers, trickier to see when their bright orange-red bills are tucked away whilst they rest. A few little Turnstones were dotted amongst them and then a larger bird at the back of this group, fast asleep with its head tucked well down – a duck for sure, maybe a female Red-breasted Merganser? Identifying ducks is not one of my strong points even when I have a good view of them.

160910-rprc-rhos-point9a-oystercatchersherring-gull-merganser-duck

Standing in the shallow water were a good number of Redshanks

160910-rprc-rhos-point11a-oystercatchersherring-gullturnstoneredshanks

and more Black-headed gulls.

160910-rprc-rhos-point17a-redshanks-gulls

A few Sandwich Terns were in amongst this group of Redshank, Turnstones & black-headed gulls.

160910-rprc-rhos-point26a-redshanks-sandwich-terns-turnstone

I found only one Ringed Plover, although there could well have been more.

160910-rprc-rhos-point19a-ringed-plover

A large number of Sandwich Terns occupied a finger of exposed rocks with a few Oystercatchers and gulls, with many more gulls bobbing around on the surrounding sea.

160910-rprc-rhos-point16-sandwich-terns-gulls

The Sandwich Terns, here in large number today were noisy and excitable, with groups taking off and settling again in spots a few metres away along the shoreline. Some will remain here for the autumn and winter, but others will move on.

160910-rprc-rhos-point23a-terns-flying

Their association with Black-headed Gulls is one I’ve seen many times.

160910-rprc-rhos-point24a-black-headed-gull-flying

There’s usually a crow or two waiting for the tide’s incoming feeding opportunities too.

160910-rprc-rhos-point18a-crow-white-patch

Amongst the multitude of gulls swimming around were several Red-throated Divers – difficult to keep in sight as they dive frequently and disappear just as you think you may have one in focus, but a man close by with a brilliant telescope patiently located them and let me have a close-up look. Still not easy as you can’t predict where they’re going to pop up again, but I managed a couple of spots – what an exciting treat. At one point I thought I may have got lucky with a view of a group of six birds, also swimming and frequently diving and disappearing beneath the surface, but they turned out to be Razorbills, not quite as ‘special’, but still lovely to see.

160910-rprc-rhos-point6a-red-throated-divers

They separated and mostly stayed too far out to see well without the aid of binoculars or a telescope, but as the tide progressed inwards, so also did one of the birds, allowing me a much better view of it.

160910-rprc-rhos-point21a-diver

 

160910-rprc-rhos-point27a-diver

As I watched the razorbill, the duck also took to the water.

160910-rprc-rhos-point-20a-merganser-duck-diver-gull

I’m fairly confident it was  a female Red-breasted Merganser. (The female Goosander looks similar but brown colour of head extends around neck leaving just a white chin). On this bird the white of the throat seems to extend down the front of the neck.

¹ Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically between 25 and 50 millimetres long. Such young fish often travel together in schools along the coast, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers.

 

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Birds by the sea

02 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by theresagreen in birds of the seashore, Birdwatching on North Wales coast, mussel beds, Nature of Wales, Rhos Point, wading birds

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Curlew, European Herring Gull, mussel beds, Oystercatcher, Rhos Point, sandwich tern

June 20th-Rhos Point

13.34- A sunny day with a strong breeze made it feel cold, but I was in need of some quick-fix fresh air and for that, Rhos Point is the perfect spot. It’s also one of my favourite spots for watching wading birds, although I don’t visit it much during the breeding season as it is almost deserted by birds and becomes uncannily quiet. Today I arrived as the tide was coming in and I spotted a small group of Oystercatchers waiting patiently for today’s incoming lunch, so I waited too to see if they would be joined by others.

As I made my way down nearer to the shore I heard some lively chirruping emanating from a shrub that has taken hold on the promenade edge, then a few House Sparrows flew out and headed for the shore below to forage amongst the exposed rocks.

160620-Rhos Point 1334-House Sparrow

Two elegant Sandwich Terns flew low over the sea, close to its edge.

160620-Rhos Point 1335-Sandwich Terns flying

13.37 pm – Oystercatchers on the sea edge use the waiting time to rest or preen.

160620-Rhos Point 1337-Oystercatchers 160620-Rhos Point 1337b-Oystercatchers

Oystercatchers are high on the list of my most favourite birds, they have great character and charisma and the more I learn more about them the more fascinating they become. They are large wading birds and when not resting are noisy. They sport large long orange or red bills, which they use for smashing or prying open molluscs.

The diet of coastal oystercatchers is varied, although dependent upon coast type; on this rocky shore with its extensive mussel beds, they will prey upon mussels of course, and also on limpets and gastropods. They also take advantage of whatever the tides bring in such as small fish and crabs.

160620-Rhos Point 1339b-Oystercatcher with blunt beak

The shape of this bird’s bill shows it to be a ‘hammerer’

The bill shape varies according to the diet. ‘Stabbers’ feed by jabbing their laterally compressed bill tips in between the valves of a mussel’s shell, while ‘hammerers’ crack open mussel shells by pounding on them. Those birds with blade-like bill tips pry open or smash mollusc shells, and those with pointed bill tips tend to probe for worms.

13.40 – The Oystercatchers were joined by a beautiful Sandwich Tern.

160620-Rhos Point 1342-Oystercatchers & Sandwich Tern 2

The Sandwich tern is a summer breeding visitor, returning to north-west Wales & Anglesey from late March to September. In the UK, many of the important colonies survive because they are on nature reserves.

This is a very white tern, which in summer breeding plumage had a full black cap on its head. The bill is long and black with a diagnostic yellow tip. The legs are short and black and the tail short and forked. In flight it shows grey wedges on its wings tips.

160620-Rhos Point 1340a-Sandwich Tern

13.44- A small number of Curlews flew in to land on the rocky sea edge, where their cryptic plumage allows them to all but disappear.

I took this short video as the Curlews arrived – coudn’t avoid the wind noise!

160620-Rhos Point 1344-Curlews foraging

160620-Rhos Point 1347-Curlews foraging on sea edge

The curlew is the largest European wading bird, instantly recognisable on winter estuaries or summer moors by its long, downcurved bill, brown upperparts, long legs and evocative call.

160620-Rhos Point 1349-Curlew

160620-Rhos Point 1346-Oystercatchers & Curlews

13.47- The mysterious moment that suddenly galvanises waiting wading birds into action arrived and triggered most, though not all of the Oystercatchers to begin foraging in earnest.

160620-Rhos Point 1347-Oystercatcher (2)

160620-Rhos Point 1346-Oystercatcher bathing

13.48- A Herring gull arrived to join the party.

160620-Rhos Point 1348-Oystercatchers, Curlews & Herring Gull

13.52- A second Sandwich Tern flew in, closely followed by a third.

160620-Rhos Point 1352-Sandwich Terns

The terns also settled down to preen.

160620-Rhos Point 1352-SandwichTerns preening & Curlew

13.59- A Cormorant flew past at speed.

160620-Rhos Point 1359-Cormorant flying

14.04- A Herring gull- it’s good to see them down here, where away from the rooftops, rubbish tips and promenades they are not upsetting anyone!

160620-Rhos Point 1404-Herring Gull 1

160620-Rhos Point 1404-Herring Gull

160620-Rhos Point 1410-Herring Gull 2

 

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