Yet Another Mega! - 26.11.16

Forster's Tern

Due to it being my weekend with my son and plans with family I had to forgo a twitch to the Suffolk/Essex border for the first twitchable Forster's Tern since 2000. The following weekend I was sat in bed having a cup of tea when I was made aware of the very same Forster's Tern having just been found down in Hythe, Kent. I was soon up and dressed and on the road south. The traffic was kind and I was on the beach just after 1pm but had to wait 10 minutes before it took flight from its hiding place. We watched it fly along the beach a few times dropping down for a fish before it landed on the beach with some gulls including 4 Mediterranean Gulls. Here I could take in the bandit mask of my first ever FORSTER'S TERN. I was bigger than I expected and was a bird I was hoping to see at some point seeing as one has been wintering in Ireland for many years. A Purple Sandpiper was seen on the rock further down the beach.