14/09/2017 White-winged Black Tern in Hertfordshire

14th September 2017
Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits, Hertfordshire

 After missing out on the White-winged Black Tern at Exmouth a couple of weeks ago I tried again, this time with huge success, in Hertfordshire.  The weather was clear and bright but punctuated with heavy showers; fortunately, it kept dry for the duration of my visit.

• After making the long walk from the car park, it was pleasing to find the tern flying around and showing really well when I arrived at the lake.  I noticed it was favouring the area close to the causeway so I headed there to join a couple of birders from London who seemed to be getting the closest views.

      

courtesy of Alan Reynolds and Twitter

• The tern was on its own and flew continuously over a small area of radius 50 metres or so, sometimes passing overhead and generally staying very close all of the time.  It seemed to be unconcerned by our presence and was busy enjoying itself as it searched for food.

• The white-winged tern, or white-winged black tern (Chlidonias leucopterus or Chlidonias leucoptera), is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is a small species generally found in or near bodies of fresh water across much of the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khelidonios, "swallow-like", from khelidon, "swallow".
• A rare annual vagrant, 
• Like the other "marsh" terns (Chlidonias),  these birds do not dive for fish, but fly slowly over the water to surface-pick items on the surface and catch insects in flight. They mainly eat insects and small fish.

A delight to get so close to this lovely bird.