northumberland roseate tern (1 Viewer)

Am planning a short break trip to Northumberland in May, primarily to see the Roseate terns on Coquet. Can anyone tell me when these birds usually arrive from their wintering grounds as I would not want to make the trip before they start arriving but do have work commitments which mean that I only have a couple of weeks to play with (I am planning mid may hopefully)

Mid May will be perfect. I don't know when they arrive/depart, but I have seen them from early to end May. There is often one or two near the jetty on Inner Farne, and the views are often better as you can't land on Coquet. That said Coquet is a more certain tick!

Mick

Only small numbers by mid May, a lot don't arrive until late May or even early June.

How close the boat can get in to Coquet is also restricted by tides; at low tide it can't get close in at all, so views are even poorer (if at all) - make sure you get a boat close to high tide.

Nutcracker said:

Only small numbers by mid May, a lot don't arrive until late May or even early June.

How close the boat can get in to Coquet is also restricted by tides; at low tide it can't get close in at all, so views are even poorer (if at all) - make sure you get a boat close to high tide.

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My experience - having been most years for the past 4/5 - is that the boats are timed to go when the tide is sufficiently high to do a complete circuit of the island. The waters are shallower on the inner side of the island where the terns breed, so it's true there needs to be a decent tide. The first time I went they had to wait to the south of the island for tide to rise sufficiently to pass the tern site, but every other time since they've timed it so as not to need to do this. At all times views of the terns on nestboxes were acceptable using 8x binoculars.

It is worth mentioning you are particularly interested in seeing roseate terns, so the boatman will be sure to spend sufficient time on the east side and make sure you see them - while there are usually other birders on the trips, a lot of people are there to see the grey seals (on the east side of the island) and of course puffins.

I can't comment about timings, the visits which I've recorded have been June or even early July, so I defer to Nutcracker's knowledge on this.

What I haven't yet managed to do is get a flight pic of a roseate tern - just sitting on a numbered nestbox, too far away for a decent picture with my 300mm lens. I've seen roseate tern near the jetty on Inner Farne in the (distant) past, but my understanding is they are far from guaranteed now. Also, although the Farne Islands are wonderful, I do feel a bit uncomfortable with the fact you can walk through the Arctic tern colonies and stress them out so much, not to mention chicks being trodden on. It is (relatively) mass tourism compared to Coquet - the boats are much more crowded, whereas the Coquet operator has licence restrictions on the number of people they can carry and there is a lot more elbow room for photography from the boat.

kb57 said:

Also, although the Farne Islands are wonderful, I do feel a bit uncomfortable with the fact you can walk through the Arctic tern colonies and stress them out so much, not to mention chicks being trodden on.

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They've tested this: the birds do get stressed a bit, yet the nest sites beside the paths are actually the premium top choice spots, and have the highest breeding success rates. This is because gulls are even more stressed out by people, so keep well away when people are around. The result is markedly lower gull predation rates for tern nests beside the paths.

A bit like why arctic geese like to nest close to Peregrine Falcon eyries: the Peregrines are a lesser danger than skuas, Arctic Foxes, etc., that the Peregrines will drive off.

Nutcracker said:

They've tested this: the birds do get stressed a bit, yet the nest sites beside the paths are actually the premium top choice spots, and have the highest breeding success rates. This is because gulls are even more stressed out by people, so keep well away when people are around. The result is markedly lower gull predation rates for tern nests beside the paths.

A bit like why arctic geese like to nest close to Peregrine Falcon eyries: the Peregrines are a lesser danger than skuas, Arctic Foxes, etc., that the Peregrines will drive off.

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And the Eider ducks seem to prefer to nest right by the boardwalks for the same reason.
All those Arctics wouldn't nest in the walled yard with people going to and fro if there wasn't an advantage to tolerating the disturbance. Anyway they seem a lot less stressed than some of the visitors!

..... and our visits were in the second half of May now I check, so I also defer to Nutcracker's local knowledge. I thought they were earlier, sorry.
Mick

Nutcracker said:

They've tested this: the birds do get stressed a bit, yet the nest sites beside the paths are actually the premium top choice spots, and have the highest breeding success rates. This is because gulls are even more stressed out by people, so keep well away when people are around. The result is markedly lower gull predation rates for tern nests beside the paths.

A bit like why arctic geese like to nest close to Peregrine Falcon eyries: the Peregrines are a lesser danger than skuas, Arctic Foxes, etc., that the Peregrines will drive off.

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That is reassuring to know - I recall reading somewhere how the urban kittiwakes in Newcastle nesting close to people were more stressed, and I think that did relate to breeding success (specifically I think it was the ones close to the deck of the Tyne Bridge). I'll return to the Farnes with a clearer conscience.

MTem said:

And the Eider ducks seem to prefer to nest right by the boardwalks for the same reason.
All those Arctics wouldn't nest in the walled yard with people going to and fro if there wasn't an advantage to tolerating the disturbance. Anyway they seem a lot less stressed than some of the visitors!

..... and our visits were in the second half of May now I check, so I also defer to Nutcracker's local knowledge. I thought they were earlier, sorry.
Mick

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I'd still recommend doing Coquet Island as well if you want the nailed-on certainty of a roseate tern. The takeaway coffee from Mocha Mondo in Amble harbour is also worth a visit - IMHO best in Northumberland, only Central Bean in Morpeth runs it close.

Thanks for the info. I will leave the trip as late as I can which will be third week in may. Hopefully. weather permitting we will be taking the boat out to coquet island, and also if time permits a trip to Farne too.

Paul Longland said:

I will leave the trip as late as I can which will be third week in may...

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Mid to late afternoon high tides that week, that'll be when to go :t:

Nutcracker said:

Mid to late afternoon high tides that week, that'll be when to go :t:

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Cheers Nutcracker. That will fit in nicely with the rest of our birding plans.