White-Winged Tern - Leighton Moss, Lancashire

After several days of bat surveys in North Yorkshire, my return journey home couldn't have gone any better to plan when reports of a White-Winged Tern came through from Leighton Moss. The 10 minute diversion was well worth it I decided, as this species would be a lifer for me.

I arrived at the reserve mid-afternoon and *casually* walked down to the Causeway Hide where it had been reported. Unfortunately, entering the hide I noticed lots of glum faces and it turned out the bird had flown off about half an hour earlier. Thinking it was unlikely to return, I had a brief scan around the pool, which was very quiet aside from a couple of Shelduck, a quartering Marsh Harrier, a booming Bittern and the usual breeding waterfowl.

Then, I looked up as a couple of Black-Headed Gulls passed overhead, and amongst them was the White-Winged Tern! The bird shot past the hide and continued to the far edge of the pool, just about visible above the reeds. After a further 10 or so minutes though, it began performing a loop of the pool which took it extremely close to the hide, providing crippling views.

The White-Winged Tern looked stunning on its fly-bys

White-Winged Terns are annual passage migrants in Britain, but much scarcer than the more familiar Black Terns, with which they are closely related. They breed across a wide portion of Asia and eastern Europe, wintering in the southern hemisphere across Africa and Oceania. This individual in particular was very distinctive, and when flying head on the silvery-white plumage stood out in contrast to all of the Black Terns I have seen.

The bird was primarily feeding high (presumably on flying insects) with the Black-Headed Gulls, though occasionally dived towards the water's surface. I left after spending about 30 minutes with the bird, with plenty happy faces in the hide after it had performed so well.