Kev Heath (@kev07713) had the fortune of catching up with the Forster's tern earlier in the year while it was very mobile along the coast and on Brownsea Island. It had been elusive for a while, but this week had been showing very regularly off Shipstal Point at the RSPB Arne Nature Reserve. This was my opportunity while it was likely to be in one place, rather than chasing it around.
We set off and as usual stopped for breakfast on the way. Somehow this all seemed to take a while and we arrived later than we hoped, given that the bird shows best early and by late breakfast time can drop in with the gulls / sandwich terns to rest - better to see it on the wing and fishing. It was quite a walk down to the Point, and we met a few people coming the other way who confirmed that the tern had been showing, but they had been there for a while and thought the best views were past - hopefully we wouldn't have scuppered our chances.
We arrived at the specified area and could see several people scanning the water and then more, further round the corner. Talking to one of the closest birders we found out that the bird had been showing but it had gone off left and been absent for about half an hour. Oh dear. We scanned the terns in view and the gulls resting on various beaches, but our bird was not there. We'd have to wait and hope.
While we waited a chap seemed to get very interested in the area behind us and when I chatted to him he'd seen a sand lizard - I couldn't see it as it had retreated back into the scrub. I turned and watched as aa couple of terns came into view and lo and behold one was our Forster's tern - confirmed by the birders around me. I turned and saw that Kev (further back) was also on it. I started to take photos as it fed up and down the channel, doing so on and off for the next hour.
We'd been treated to a fine display and eventually the tern dropped onto a distant spit where we were able to pick it out as it preened. It then dropped in closer but still distant, associating with sandwich terns and various gulls. Wventually Kev and I spent some time looking for sand lizards.
Kev is a master at picking out bird stationary in trees or bushes, and it appears he can do the same with sand lizards. Within 5 to 10 minutes, he had found a female but unfortunately it scarpered before I could get a camera on it. Another 10 minutes later though he found another and this time we and a growing number of people watched as it worked through the grass and scrub giving some decent views. When we turned back to view the sea, we discovered that an osprey had flown down the channel - damn. We could see a distant one on a post, but the heat haze and distance prevented photos.
We backed up to go to the Visitor's centre for a spot of lunch when we spotted another remarkable creature, a red-belted sand wasp. They are specialist in heathland and sandy areas, paralyzing caterpillars and give them to their offspring to kill. They sting the caterpillar on its belly. but must be careful not to kill the caterpillar as it would start to decay before their larva has time to consume them. Once paralyzed they take them back to their burrows which are dug out of sandy soil where one egg is laid next to the caterpillars and when hatched, the larva will consume the caterpillars. It was a pleasure to watch it hunting but would have been a different story if you were the prey - ruthlessly efficient!
Before leaving we picked out a whimbrel amongst the birds in the bay - always nice to see.
After lunch we decided to see if we could locate any roosting nightjars in a spot we knew them to be resident - of course it is getting close to time for them to depart so chances were slim. We failed but did see some lovely roe deer and a pair of stonechats - surprisingly few encountered though. As we made our way back to the car, we spotted a distant osprey as it crossed from the Wareham Channel across the reserve.
Almost back at the car we stopped to look at a couple of buddleia bushes where we watched a hummingbird hawk moth, a hornet mimic, and a common darter feeding. The bush was proving popular.
It would be a couple of hours to get home so we stopped again at the Visitor's centre for a drink and were afforded great views of various tits, finches and particularly siskins, this male being quite a stunner. The end of a great day out.
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