A Monday visit to a Tern colony

I have been looking for a Tern colony for some time without striking any luck. My hope is to be able to photo the Tern colony when they have chicks with the aim of catching many interaction shots when the Terns is bringing back food to their young. I am not sure how many days I will have with the possibility to get these sought after interaction photos before the young Terns leave the colony.

It really doesn´t matter which type of Tern, but I suppose it will be either the Common Tern or the Arctic Tern as I suppose they are the most numerous around Gothenburg. I had of course this in mind when I travelled thorough Halland on Saturday, but I didn´t see a single Tern throughout the day.

So what is the status of the project now? Have I found a colony yet?

Yes, I have found one and it is much closer than I had hoped for as it is out in the archipelago of Gothenburg. And it is easily accessible for me so I can go there after work each evening if I want.

I check the place the first time on Monday evening and it looks promising as I found a mixed colony with Common Terns and Black-headed Gulls. There were also Eurasian Oystercatchers with juvenile birds and a couple of Common Eiders there so all in all a nice mix. I couldn´t see any chicks, but I hope they will hatch during this week, if I am lucky, as the weather forecast say sunshine from a clear sky.

I feel there are a couple of things that I need to focus on next time I go there. One thing is that I have to check the exposure more often than I do. It is hard to photo a white-ish bird against a light background as you all too often overexpose. I also want to use the bag hide next time as I have bought it with things like this in my mind. The hope is to get a little bite closer when I use the bag hide without disturbing the birds. To not disturb is of course of utmost importance and something you always should consider first, particularly when you are close to a nesting site. You are the visitor in their realm and need to behave accordingly.

You can find a couple of photos from the 25 minutes I spent at the colony in the gallery below. I particularly like the first one of the Black-headed Gull, mostly because I find it funny. Next time I hope for more interaction and maybe a warm sunset to add a little extra to the scene.

Photo Gallery: A Monday visit to a Tern colony