15/09/2024 Fairhaven Lake, Lytham Saint Annes, Lancs

Black Tern: I have recently purchased the 200-800 f9 canon lens and the canon R7 and I have been really keen to get out as much as I can and practice with it.

It's been a big learning curve thus far, with a heavier bigger lens and new controls on the camera it's taken a while to get to grips with the new kit. 

One of the things I wanted to practice with was fast moving birds, and boy, these back terns where defiantly a good subject to practice on. The pair were constantly on the move, whizzing through the air and foraging on the water and in all honestly I really struggled. The auto-focus wasn't capable of tracking the birds and the crop sensor made things more difficult at 800mm to track the birds.

These where the best I could manage with the time I had. Despite my frustrations it was great to spend the afternoon with these pair of back tern. They are great birds. 

29/07/2022 Pennington Flash, Leigh

Black Tern: Work has been mental recently with tons of breeding bird and barn owl surveys keeping me busy. Thankfully I no longer do any more bat surveys so Im more awake in the afternoons.

With my new found energy I've been able to nip out and catch up with some good local birds, often found by Colin Davies. 

Last week two black terns turned up with a dozen or so common tern, they were feeding off the boating club. Luckily a really nice fella who was working on the boats let me win to photograph them.

Black-necked Grebe: Today Colin found a nice juvenile black-naked grebe, by the time I arrived the birds was far out in the middle of the lake, viewed from the car park. 

The to resident Egyptian geese were also still present, feeding amongst the growing numbers of Canada geese feeding on the small patch of grass opposite the car park. 

Eventually the grebe came a little closer, this juvenile likely came from the nearby Woolston Eyes nature reserve, the premier place for black-ncekd grebes in the North West. 

4/2022 Carr Mill Dam, St Helens

Black Tern: These elegant little marsh tern have seemingly been thin on the ground over recent times, It's certainly been awhile since I've seen one. So it came as an extra surprise when was was reported up the road at Carr Mill Dam. 

I was working from home, late into the afternoon  on a bird report one which I was keen to get signed off and completed,  although half and hour or so before reaching this goal I had a phone call of Damian Young  giving me the gen on the bird. 

He also mentioned there was a bit of a buzz around the birds ID with some folk claiming American black tern!

Once I was done, I was off. 

When I arrived the bird was miles away, whizzing up and down the entire length of the lake. I bumped into both Steve T and Iggo and we relocated to part of the lake where it was a bit more narrower hoping the bird would eventually come to us. 

We weren't wrong,  the bird put on a good 'Dam' show I also picked up my first swallow and house martin of the year. 

Bill Aspin tells me that this bird has beaten the counties earliest record set 42 years ago by three days.  So definitely a worthwhile local twitch, not just to wipe the reporting cobwebs away but to see a really nice record breaking bird. 

03/09/2014 Marbury Country Park

Black Tern: An after work trip to Marbury, It was one of those days when a decent bird turns up, the weather is nice and I'm stuck in the office! 

Needless to say I was keen to wrap thing up and catch the birds that were picked up mid morning on Budworth Mere before they disappeared.

Once I arrived the two birds were miles away, as I watched for about half an hour they didn't come any closer.

I then decided to drive round to the boating place on the opposite side of the mere. This turned out to be a wise decision as after a short wait both birds came much closer to my lens.

27/04/2014 Eccleston Mere

Black Tern: After getting some pretty poor shots of Leighton Moss's Black Tern I was pleased to see through BirdGuides that one had made an appearance down the road from home.

After a short detour back from Leighton Moss I arrived at Eccleston to find it showing incredibly close as it swooped above the water and banked against the wind.

Even though this bird was much more closer than the one at Leighton Moss I still struggled to get a decent shot. I have now put this down to the Black Tern being one of the most difficult birds to photograph!!

The bloody little bird was far too fast for me, my auto focus was throwing a wobble as it evaded my attempts to get it in focus. I decided to use manual focus which seemed to work a bit better.

It was great to catch up with some Eccleston Mere regulars, Dot, Paul Brady, Billinge's Damion and Damion Young.

And what a bird, simply stunning it put a little smile back on my face after the Liverpool defeat.

27/04/2014 Leighton Moss RSPB

Black Tern: After working last weekend I was keen to get out and bag a decent bird. OK a Black Tern is by no means a Collard Pratincole or Alpine Accentor, but they are special little birds.






This beauty was showing well, if a little distant from a very busy and very noisy Lillian's Hide! After getting a few record shots it was nice to retreat to the quiet of the wider reserve.


It was good to bump in to Kev Kelly who pointed me in the direction of a Cetti's Warbler and Common Redstart, of which I could only locate the Cetti's.

I then went on to locking my keys in my car and then after some help (cheers Garry) I got some assistance from the AA, I was fuming with myself as I thought I was going to miss the match!  Luckily I bumped in to Allan who accompanied me to the nearest local pub where we watched Liverpool fail to break down Chelsea. Good company despite him being a blue, rubbish result!

17/09/2013 Brockholes

Black Tern: OK so I turned down a trip to Suffolk for the Lesser Grey Shrike and this goes against rule number one! Never say no to a twitch. But I made up for it a little by getting my first Black Tern at Brockholes.

This has been another one of this years bogey birds, dipping at Pennington Flash, Eccleston Mere and New Brighton, but one which I have been looking forward to seeing for ages.

When I arrived a local birder pointed it out to me as it roosted on the island in number one pit - as I think they call it. I then got the briefest of views before I got a call from Paul Brady regarding some work stuff then subsequently I lost the bird.

I searched for well over an hour and a half dodging the autumn showers before finally stumbling upon the bird on the Ribbleton Pool.