The Alton Water Gull-billed Tern: Andrew Gregory

Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica at Alton Water July 29th and August 4th to 16th

(First found by A Jones – then relocated six days later by) Andrew Gregory

on August 4th my wife wanted some gentle exercise. We strolled at Alton Water, first Lemons Hill and then the Wonder loop before going to the reservoir’s dam where there were throngs of people enjoying “the great outdoors”. on the top car park, i set up my ‘scope to scan the reservoir. common terns Sterna hirundo were numerous and focusing on the railings of the reservoir’s draw-off tower i noticed a hunched shape looking distinctly uncommon. Quickly moving to the water’s edge, and although the bird was still distant, the view suggested that i was looking at a Gull-billed tern. i telephoned Lee Woods using a cautious ‘probable’ suggestion. He immediately sent me the image taken by A Jones on July 29th which mirrored my view. i re-called Lee to convert ‘probable’ to ‘certain’. i forwarded that picture to my wife’s ‘proper’ phone so that i could enlarge the frame to show her the bird. Locals such as chris Baines and ed keeble soon arrived. Paddle boarders had disturbed the bird after only three observers had seen it. James everett mooted the idea that it had ‘gone to the estuary’ but, luckily, i was able to tell him that it had resettled as the ‘third from the left’ on the railings. the number of birders increased rapidly so we retreated obviously not realising that the tern would remain available for so many to enjoy over the next few days.

Addenda i have seen the species in at least 14 countries with the first in Majorca in 1971 and the largest flock being 100+ in Hong kong in 1994. However, this is my first British sighting.

Gull-billed terns bred in the Netherlands in 2020 for the first time since 1958.

The whereabouts of this bird during its presence in England

Philip Murphy

Having read the Bird News Analysis section in the october 2020 issue of Birdwatch, it would appear that this Gull-billed tern was found initially at Alton Water on July 29th (and was possibly present on July 30th). it was then absent until August 4th. What could possibly have been the same bird was at Seaton creek (cleveland) on August 2nd and Snettisham (Norfolk) on August 3rd, but not definitely linked by BBrc, before returning on August 4th to Alton Water where it remained until August 16th, although on August 13th it was on the orwell estuary at trimley Marshes, on the river and on the reservoir.

Having finally departed from Alton Water, what is assumed to have been the same bird was at Gibraltar Point (Lincolnshire) on August 18th and 19th.

of interest – in 1949, what is assumed to have been the same pair of Gull-billed terns was present at Abberton reservoir, just south of colchester in essex, during July of that year and then returned there and bred, unsuccessfully, in 1950, Britain’s sole breeding record (A New Guide to the Birds of Essex, Dr S. cox, 1984)

{there have been 19 records of Gull-billed terns in Suffolk, with 25 individuals involved. the last was at Landguard on June 14th 2005 and, before that, there were two at Landguard on May 1st 1997. excepting records from Breydon Water in the 19th and early-20th centuries, this is Suffolk’s first-ever non-coastal sighting, and also the first-ever to have not been a one-day record. it is a species that has never before been readily twitchable in Suffolk – so for many, this longstaying bird was a chance to admire it and add it to their Suffolk list, myself included! it is fairly easily identified – from Sandwich tern Thalasseus sandvicensis – by its shorter but thicker black bill. See photograph. it is a species regularly seen around the Mediterranean, the Middle east and east to china, but not regularly seen in Britain. However, as Andrew mentions, there has been a spread to the other side of the english channel and North Sea. Perhaps more of them may cross over to ‘our’ coasts in the near future? – Ed.]