22nd July - Hill Head, Hampshire

The heat wave had been with us for at least seven days and I had been sweltering in my home office watching the reports come in of terns on the beach at Hill Head.  With free time from mid afternoon into the evening, I decided to pop down in the hope that a mid week visit might bring some luck.

As I left the car and headed to the beach behind the sailing club, the south easterly breeze was very pleasant after the sauna like temperatures at home in the office.  The tide was out and there were terns on the beach accompanied by several adult and juvenile Mediterranean Gulls.

Unfortunately there wasn't any sign of the two birds I hoped to see, Roseate and Black Tern, there was though time and as I was reliably assured this was a waiting game.  Common Terns came and went from the group that were sitting on the beach, their heads pointing into the sout east breeze and away from us..  Several juvenile terns were begging to be fed while adults would join their mates and take the display stance.

Adult birds flying in mostly from the reserve and over our heads on the beach.

A Great Black-backed Gull and this Lesser Black-backed Gull patrolled the area in hope of finding an easy meal.

Not the sharpest photograph I have taken, the shutter speed had been reduced and the bird becomes a blur while retaining the main features, the red bill and black cap.

There were at least four adult Mediterranean Gulls on the beach with another four juveniles that when separated from any size comparison can have similarities with juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls when viewed from behind.  The adult birds were beginning to lose their black hoods as the breeding season comes to an end.

There were no confirmed breeding from Titchfield Haven reserve so these birds have arrived here from somewhere else.

Common Terns would arrive with fish for the juveniles, coming in from both the sea nd the reserve behind us.  As they dropped to the beach they would twist and tern to pick the right spot.  Quite a sizeable fish too.

As well as the Common Terns and Mediterranean Gulls there were six Sandwich Terns, again starting to lose that smart breeding plumage.

Scanning the sea their were large flocks of terns fishing mid channel, it was more than possible that the Roseate Tern was out there.  We had received a message that a Black Tern was on the South Scrape of the reserve and a little later it was picked up among a large flock of Common Terns as they moved out into the sea.  Appearing smaller and with a distinctively different flight it was actually quite easy to follow.  Unfortunately it never came to the beach and I was left with the Common Terns, here an adult.

And several juvenile Common Terns fishing off shore.

The tide was now rising fast and the amount of beach the terns were using was becoming covered and the number of terns reduced.  I decided it was time to call it a day, it was unlikely the Roseate would return now.  I would just have to hope I could catch up with it when I returned at the weekend.