16-07-2022 - Gull-billed Terns in Oude Pekela
Every year the Gull-billed Terns take a break in their journey to Africa near Oude Pekela. They then rest on a sand excavation together with the newborn chicks. The birds come from Germany where a small population still breeds in the mouth of the Elbe. They usually stay here for a few weeks before moving on to Africa. The chicks are still fed by their parents during migration.
We visit the Gull-billed Terns every year for our annual list. This year they were on another quarry near Oude Pekela. This is close to the old location where a few birds also reside. It took a while to find the the best spot to see the birds. Once this was successful, we found at least 30 birds and could clearly distinguish 4 young.
The Gull-billed Tern flew continuously towards a grain field that lay behind us. Here they mainly caught Green Bush Crickets which were fed to the young. Thanks to the beautiful light conditions, nice pictures were taken. The Gull-billed Tern is number 310 for the year list.
