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| Sargassum Seaweed @ Inch Marlow and Long Beach |
Inch Marlow and Long Beach are not attracting visitors as
they use too. These locations which are synonymous
with beach life - surfing, kite surfing, fishing and swimming for the brave at
heart – are now only known for Sargassum seaweed and the stench that
comes along with it. It is this very
reason that attracts birders to these beaches. The fresh sargassum traps small crustaceans and fish and as it decays it attracts small flies and
maggots, a buffet for birds of all kinds.
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| Laughing Gull |
I visited Inch Marlow and Long Beach on the afternoon of July
25th to check for early migrants, mainly of the shorebird
variety. I arrived just before 4:30pm,
not many shorebirds were around, just three Spotted Sandpipers and a
Semipalmated Sandpiper, this was because it is still very early in the
migration process but that would change in a few weeks.
A few seabirds were feeding close to shore, three Roseate
Terns easily identified with their black crown and a Laughing Gull, but another
bird caught my attention. This bird
appeared all white, it flies and fishes like a tern but was larger than the
Roseates and closer to the size of the Gull.
It had a dark patch on the eye and a thick black bill. These main characteristics told me the bird was
a Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica), a rare bird for the island.
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| Gull-billed Tern |
Gull-billed Terns are medium sized Terns, about 13” in length
with a wing span of 34”. It has a thick
black bill and legs. It also sports a black crown in breeding plumage and a
pale crown otherwise. The bird at Inch
Marlow appeared to be a juvenile showing a faint creamish wash on its upper
back or mantle.
I am not sure how long this bird will remain in this area but
I hope to visit the area again early next week.
More Images
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| Gull-billed Tern |
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| Gull-billed Tern |
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| Laughing Gull |
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| Roseate Tern |
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| Semipalmated Sandpiper feeding the Sargassum |
