EXPERTS ADVICE
Tern-watching tips, getting familiar with Dunlin, webbed feet, island eradications and Hen Harrier Day are all covered this month.
AUGUST is a good time to look for seabirds and the coasts of Britain are great for watching terns on passage. It is also worth looking out for some species on inland waters at this time. Migrating terns may be shadowed by skuas, which should be watched out for wherever they gather, especially on the east coast.
Sandwich Terns disperse around the coasts after fledging, some as early as late June, and numbers at some staging areas peak by mid-August. Young Sandwich Terns frequently stay with their parents and can be heard noisily begging for food. Anywhere along the east coast is good, but they are infrequently seen inland.
Common Terns tend to disperse after fledging from late July, but may not move far from their breeding areas as they begin to moult before migrating. Birds gathering at Teesmouth, Co
Durham, have a mid-August peak and follow a clear migratory path across the Pennines to the Irish Sea, with large numbers seen at staging areas in Seaforth, Lancs, and Dublin Bay. They are also regularly seen along east and south coasts.
Arctic Terns leave their breeding colonies from mid-July to mid-August. Tracking of birds from the Farne Islands shows that they fly over northern England into the Irish Sea, and then into the Atlantic. Birds from more northerly colonies probably head west, north of Ireland, straight into the North Atlantic. Unlike Common Terns, Arctics migrate before they moult and so do not have staging areas, although there have been occasional large congregations in the Irish Sea.
Most Little Terns leave their breeding areas soon after breeding and have departed Britain by the end of August. Some may cross the North
Sea to a staging area in The Netherlands, where many birds gather. Young birds frequently accompany parents on migration. Roseate Terns can be seen off the north-east coast of England and in the Irish Sea and any large gathering of terns in August should be checked for them. Chris Harbard