Tern Return

This week has once again produced very mixed and unsettled weather. It has at times been more like April than June with frequent heavy showers. There have however been brighter interludes and Tuesday was one such day. The afternoon promised some sun so I thought I would return to Preston Docks to catch up on the progress of the tern colony which is thriving at this location. On arrival there was yet another beefy shower but then the promised sunshine and blue skies eventually arrived.
Fellow photographers Martin and Geoff were already there and were enjoying the sights and sounds of the tern colony and were busy capturing the action. I set up the big lens and tripod and was soon into action trying to capture these elegant fast flying birds as they were kept busy attending to their families. Since my last visit a month ago quite a number of the terns have successfully reared their chicks some of which had left the security of their tyre homes. Other tern families have nested on the gravel and shingle which has been put down on the pontoons. All in all they are having a very good season and a good number of chicks and fledglings are doing well.
A very enjoyable couple of hours was spent capturing the action in and around the various nests and the images above show the comings and goings of the various tern families as they attented to their hungry chicks. One pair of common terns are still incubating their eggs and can be seen above exchanging nest duties and the three eggs can be seen beneath the parent. Most of the fish being provided for the young terns are presumably being caught from the nearby River River Ribble and appear to be small roach. Hope my readers enjoy looking at life in and around this tern colony and I will return soon to follow the progress and capture more of the action.