The whole family fancied a trip to Poole yesterday but the only one that wanted to go to Brownsea was me. And so I trudged disconsolately to this squalid little island with its smelly, noisy tern colony and gazed reluctantly at the irascible inhabitants and their bug-ugly chicks. As you can imagine, I had a thoroughly miserable time. A couple of Roseate Terns had been reported the previous day and to compound my disappointment they were still there. I was so bored I tried to fritter the time away thinking up contrived puns for blog post titles. And taking the odd photo of the Roseates. Quite frankly it was a relief to get the last boat home, which I almost missed - imagine being stuck there with the terns, the Nightjars, the Med Gulls, the Red Squirrels...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLlUarXqZbO5VLIghzMHDoP4densD7PkkxmQ8NiFmCqgEOQOzPDjLGZwzh940RR1ginoGwTLf1I4ximKyNzMOEJtd-_Qhf822d_4bleyAl4ef2YQFB_ifHr7NjAN39o8fSJaOg2OA_wY/s400/Blog+Roseate+18.JPG) |
Roseate Tern - a very elegant bird in flight with long tail streamers |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1f12Is0_n-TGMh6hxc1k5UN2Bki4k6gFQwPFXVXKyAjKmxBivUFqSIP01Ljt4BuukNITUoiHF5L-0WRsPqkC06vZWQabVuAt1XLTTxfIgEVFyyhcE3Iad04eY-eJm_uP1BfHf7vL16o/s400/Blog+Roseate+6.JPG) |
The pure, wader like call was often a clue that the Roseate Tern was approaching |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdc7u7GO6QzxUyCKP03exymwi72_GgAlceKyvd4foZZ0IenlUC6fUcKlLi_BTRbfEHPzIhzYZsWWgBK1rjhRRjGmXXL6pD3Ec7BoUpyXpcdTLtuBL9xlphfl9q-HdSTVlZENasKDHLJA/s400/Blog+Roseate+14.JPG) |
A strikingly pale bird in flight, more so than on the ground it seemed |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4DlyZKUhVt6Vt9sbcAAhX5vTExvLP_74GePl5Kd-5YNFl4VyKntK6O7oMLQzIwpEhg9mXDjoPRdTode6l0SzvOuQIGJyXnEAam6QE7-wiHm1sX5fYtsmvplxPk1XWsy0rizrvo0BYp8U/s400/Blog+Roseate+17.JPG) |
Roseate Tern against Poole's urban backdrop |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLEebRxhpsYrMgiU8ZUdfj7IpNai-aiakTc-5vXO0pN7rH5w-MgkYVgz4UNuwxypUCSe4AD0fA6IboMu8b09Oglr8pNvAOFPvg9MI-GlXsWgiMIHXLwVj0Uy91Zp0DeXCgLQiWClM1zIg/s400/Blog+Roseate+9.JPG) |
A feisty bird which repeatedly knocked Black-headed Gulls off their perches |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCXQyoL5JT1VQWF6igXRGvVKcHLe9IH0iDj7PZYZtb-gXRR59HqjKUczd3fKe407DTwaIX6zYWLTIrkY4Y5js1MX9QRg6RhmnLPiFyJKesh1dCLxjqbU8TqznhEehp79EnWXx0uOfpKjM/s400/Blog+Roseate.JPG) |
Both birds bore metal leg rings |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJajENopzo5a7lt7y1AVkhwMTfHZ-uY0wzQxwpUQE4iB9z2gNNwuLmILg9R_3yOGWrTEJMyv9gOlEv0tz4HgBv2jf5-3i9fclqHyLwXVtII4gSu8C4e8e0KubAhCuaUJe0OL_v-V1vLF4/s400/Blog+Roseate+10.JPG) |
One landed briefly on the unfenced island in front of the Macdonald hide |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7o_VRosofoJgQRGVcKAZgNMCH3XLvAEZ5ULVeNPBihH3Pi3iZsj-pP4eWqysX-BqlxOiPMPlhPXEz9ctnTUsvpNS5ng9TEC8zCKuMFidDrl6uIyDfnMA6IbjrXr-TMiKi1YqfqTRWVxQ/s400/Blog+Roseate+11.JPG) |
It walked a few paces... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH129mypir0i4KoRwyZ9LC9ALrPsg7qrLoaR5To44yiQhlPoShR980mRwiT6fKEZy-y1nLlrfTmYcVA8NnPPEKXK__fXIOp4hJfHJEAuqfcBtpkasE78njBxwPe4MqzAmKYAj9XpbF5kA/s400/Blog+Roseate+12.JPG) |
...and turned around - still difficult to get the whole bird with streamers in shot among the other terns and paraphernalia |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMq_hgsOG5RGHek9llzIVV2mv6PUitjRgQNOzM2FlDHJqx4MiWpg7ejxg7B_1j7DW2J4IntTZmLhcVeVvUo0LYsifWnaDbIHeL-_C4lC6tj00SJR_sQ9uuZGlerNMZrYa-N74Ek_NYUk/s400/Blog+Roseate+13.JPG) |
A cropped shot - the base of the bill, black in spring, should turn red as the breeding season progresses |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXqszBReDYgxjhyphenhyphenHMXn4fDFpYSuVknKiSlBSbcN-4uk2BFZ2_u4R07xdimWhld55KS21n9YC6UtiCiFGfkua-qu7fkUHMRxgu3KmCrikK9vS2NiLqDkxqUexsrlWKHpq5FDJzx-ziUJQ/s400/Blog+Roseate+16.JPG) |
More vocalising - this time as a Black-headed Gull flew overhead |
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