Common Tern.

In Preston on Sunday I went to show KT the Common Terns at Preston Dock in the hope perhaps some recent Black Terns there would still be around as a bonus. I reckon in excess of 200 Common Tern here today, and our timing was good with one pair, the male of which began displaying to the female walking around her a few times, resulting in some mating behaviour. 

I managed to get a small four frame sequence of the action which was rewarding.

Common Terns. Preston Dock. Pete Woodruff.

In 2009 following an epic journey from their wintering in West Africa, a pair of Common Tern successfully bred on a pontoon at Preston Dock raising two young. Fylde Bird Club with the RSPB, capitalised on the opportunity to create what is seen today as a thriving colony, by introducing artificial nest sites on pontoons at Preston Dock, today's trays can be seen in the pictures above.

All this adds to the excellent return of the Common Tern pair to Conder Pool on Friday 6 May, a fortnight earlier than last year when they arrived on Friday 22 May 2015 and went on to rear three young, and 2 months earlier than their first year here, when they surprised everyone by arriving on the much later date of 2 July in 2014 to successfully rear their first two young....Hopefully these successes will continue on Conder Pool this summer with similar accommodation now in place as at Preston Dock thanks again to FBC and the RSPB.