A Taste of the Med

After two previous dips this year (Kent and Notts), it was a case of third time lucky. I'd seen Caspian Tern many times before but only abroad, and this would be a British lifer for me. So, it was off to Saltholme RSPB Reserve - leaving at 5.45am to avoid the heat of the day - and eventually, after scanning the distant shores of the southernmost pool (Back Saltholme) from the layby, a fellow birder found the bird in question: as stunning adult (one of two seen here recently). Two things struck me: the sheer size of the bird (much bigger than a Black-headed Gull) and the very obvious, huge red bill. I drove further south down the road and found a pull-in that enabled me to get a little closer to the bird but I was still some way off. Consequently, the heat haze ruined my chances of a decent image, but at least I managed a couple of record shots, the best being the one below. I watched the bird preening on the muddy shoreline for a while and then briefly in flight. Sadly, this was the last I saw of it as it disappeared behind the tall vegetation surrounding the pool. It was undoubtedly still there when I left a few hours later but it wasn't visible. An hour before I clocked the Tern, I watched a nice Barn Owl hunting (which eventually flew over the road nearby), and much later on I caught up with 3 Spoonbills (at nearby Dorman's Pool) and a Russian White-fronted Goose (at this time of year! - bizarre). A close fly-by from a Little Egret was the only other highlight. By 11am it was too hot to birdwatch and I came home - waiting for the imminent heat wave coming our way from southern Europe. No doubt climate change will bring more Caspian Terns to the UK...