The Wildlife of
The Northumberland Coast

 
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Terns - The Arctic Tern

First seen on Monday 22nd June 2020 at The Northumberland Coast

From a distance it's not always easy to tell the terns apart. They have different calls, sizes, tail shapes etc, but I've found the best way to distinguish them is the bill colouration. Common Terms have a long bright red bill with an obvious black tip, but the Arctic Tern is all over red, and appears a little shorter than the Common Tern's. Arctic Terns can be seen from the beach catching fish and from the dunes flying overhead. They are very graceful birds and great fun to watch as they dive into the water. They often breed at Long Nanny, but like the Little Terns, their nests are very prone to high tides and predation unfortunately.