7 Jun 2022

7 Jun 22 - #30DaysWild Day 7 - A Cousin From Across The Big Pond

This is a quick Blog Post for the #30DaysWild posting a wildlife photo a day for June 22. Day 7 saw me just North of Dublin twitching the first Irish and the second British Isles record of Least Tern. It looks very similar to the Little Tern behind it, but it has a yellower bill with a reduced black tip, yellower legs, is marginally smaller and paler on the upperparts and has a grey (not white) rump & tail. The most obvious feature was the loud disyllabic call which was very distinct from the call of the Little Terns. Virtually all the Little Terns were colour-ringed which also helped to pick it out from the Little Terns sitting away from the colony. I will write a longer Blog Post at a later date.
Least Tern: With a Little Tern behind for comparison