Missed by a Whiskered

My last post ended with the joy of seeing a Tawny Pipit at Cogden on 8th May during a 66 mile bike ride tempered only by the disappointment at missing a Whiskered Tern at Abbotbury by less than an hour earlier the same day. I slept in on Sunday 9th and, skipping breakfast, went straight for an early brunch: a family favourite in the form of one of my home-made omelettes. Or, to give it its proper name in the competitive Dad contest between me and my son's best friend's father over who can cook the best-sounding meal, 'Barn-fresh free range 6-egg omelette with grated Coastal Cheddar, field mushrooms cooked in butter, grilled vine-ripened tomatoes and Wiltshire smoked streaky bacon with a side of new potatoes sauteed in spring onions, allotment-grown Parsley and a Cornish sea-salt and five-pepper garnish'.

It was delicious, though I say so myself, and as we cleaned our plates my thoughts turned to that most decadent of possibilities: a midday nap. Around this time my friend Steve Smith phoned to say a possible Whiskered Tern had been reported at Longham Lakes. Longham has enjoyed many good birds over the years so it wasn't out of the question, but the site has also been the scene of a few misidentifications, so we assumed - hoped in my case given the planned siesta - that it might just be another one of those. Half-an-hour later though and the sighting was confirmed, by no less an authority than George Green who literally wrote the book of Dorset birds. 

After the efforts of the previous day, at one level the last thing I needed was another long bike ride, and a 28 mile round trip to Longham was definitely not the 'warm down' I had in mind! I had a quick consultation with another friend, Jol Mitchell, who had by this time become a sort of bad decisions coach for my green year list: his precise words were 'I think you're mad, but given what you're trying to achieve, I think you have to go for it'. He was right, and go for it I did. 

The adrenaline kicked in and with a slight following wind I sailed through Sandford, Lytchett Matravers and Upton to Alderney - site of my third-time-lucky Glaucous Gull twitch. From here it was all downhill to Longham. As soon as I reached the south lake where the Whiskered Tern had been seen I scanned with my bins and could just about make it out in the distance. I needed to get closer to be sure, but as I headed clockwise around the lake I lost sight of it. Turning the next corner, the reason became clear: it was sat on a post just yards from the bank, with half-a-dozen huge lenses pointing at it! 

The Whiskered Tern then put on a superb show, dropping off the post to feast on craneflies and returning repeatedly, enabling plenty of flight shot practice. The light was tricky and didn't look like improving, so I headed home with a deep sense of satisfaction at having caught up with 'the one that got away' just 24 hours earlier. The last 3 of the 94 miles I cycled that weekend were among the hardest into the wind and I was running on fumes by this point. But I was soon home, and even summoned up the energy to cook the traditional Sunday roast. Or, for the purposes of the competitive Dad contest, 'Corn-fed, butter-basted poussin in a rich...' etc etc