Dawlish Warren (Cockwood) - Thu 4 Dec

News broke yesterday of a rare tern off Dawlish Warren which was eventually identified as a Lesser Crested Tern, and as it decided to linger overnight I made the decision late morning to head down on my afternoon off work to try and see it.

A drive of nearly two hours meant I arrived at Cockwood just before 3pm and decided to stop here and check for the bird, this was a good decision as there were a small number of birders present who very kindly got me on to the bird within a minute or two. OK, it was a bit distant, but I got some great views through my scope of it in flight on perched on a distant buoy.

After a while it took flight again and eventually settled a little closer, still too far away for a decent photo though.

Knowing that the light would be against me, I decided to not to drive round to Dawlish Warren and make the thirty minute hike across the dunes to the hide. I might have got closer views, but by the time I got there I knew I wouldn't have long so decided to just enjoy the views from Cockwood, even if they were a little distant.

So, Lesser Crested Tern is the latest addition to my life list, and what a great bird it was.

Obviously, I didn't really spend any time looking for other birds, but there was a good number of Brent Geese present and I did have four Bar-tailed Godwits fly by.