terns

At Cley on Monday 4th July, saw two very light coloured Terns, too far away to indetify properly and I struggle with Terns any way.  They looked very white and light coloured.  I wondered what species of Tern are in the area at the moment.  Could they be Artic Terns?  i couldn't see their beaks or legs.

  • Hi theharier

    I am afraid that you have 4 species of tern to choose from, all of which breed (in varying numbers ) in Norfolk.

    The commonest species are the Sandwich, common and little followed by the much rarer Arctic.

    Sandwich terns are the largest of the group with a shaggy black crest and black bill with a yellow tip. Little tern is the smallest with a black head and yellow bill with black tip. Common and Arcitc are very similar and the differences are difficult to see if you don't get a good view. Arctic terns usually have much shorter legs, all red bill (common has a black tip) and whiter wingtips.

    I would suspect that you were more likely to have seen common but I couldn't say that for definate.

    Hope that helps you

    Paul

  • Great info, I suspect they were common terns.  Hope to be up Titchwell on Friday.