Where are the Terns?

[steveduke]

Is it just me, or has there been a big shortage of terns along the coast this year?  Most of my watching is done off Marske, and I normally expect a steady supply of Sandwich and Common through August and September, with the odd Little and, very rarely, Arctic and Roseate.  The Common can build up to big numbers when little fish get caught in receding tidal pools.  And then we get a number of Skuas, as many as half a dozen sometimes.  Not one this year.  Match other people's observations?

[IanF]

Same with me. I found the same thing throughout the summer. Nomrally there's usually a steady stream of dozens of Common Tern up and down Seaton Channel as they make feeding forays out to sea and back but this year it was 3-4 birds at a time. Like wise over Dormans Pool area.

Breeding numbers at Saline Lagoon seemed reasonable though Holm Fleet appeared to have fewer birds but I don't know the numbers in the Saltholme areas.

The late summer build up on Seaton Snook never happended. Around 150 birds was the most I saw together and that was only once. Mostly it was 10-30 birds post breeding. Likewise very few Sandwich Tern. I didn't see any Skuas on the beach this year and only one over the Estuary in flight. Only one Roseate seen and just the odd Arctic but that's not unusual. Little Tern didn't seem badly affected though with regular sightings and good numbers especially north of Hartlepool.