Saturday didn't seem the best weather to go out here, but dodging the downpours was worthwhile to see a party of eight black terns here at Fen Drayton Lakes. There were juvenile and adult birds in the group, the latter were all moulting into their non-breeding plumage, and they were hunting the same area as a few common terns, which was great for making comparisons. The black terns, were smallers, and their flight was quite different as they swooped down to the lake surface to pick up a morsel to eat.
Black terns are often found on migration when weather fronts pass through, particularly when there is heavy rain too. The skies cleared overnight, and the black terns had gone by Sunday morning.
There were still good numbers of other birds for visitors to see on Sunday - some were lucky enough to see abittern, while many saw mixed parties of warblers, with lesser and common whitethroats, blackcaps, garden and willow warblers in them. Others saw a marsh harrier, and some saw a family party of recently fledged hobbies - where did they come from?