Tern Tick Tastic

Last week I took the kids to Wales to see, feel and live some of their family history. Staying with Cousins in Neath we had a great couple of days in particular the visit to Big Pit. I know this is supposed to be a birding blog but just a few words about this great place first.

At Big Pit you get to see what is was like to be a miner over the last couple of hundred years and what terrible conditions they were forced to work in. Firstly you travel down 300 feet in the cage to the tunnels then take a guided tour of the mine shafts, it's really interesting and educational (especially if you have a family history based around mining).

Anyway luckily the evening before I was due to come home from South Wales to London the American Black Tern was located at Farmoor Resevoir in Oxfordshire, very conveniently about half way home. It was either stop at services on the M4 and pay £5 for a crap sarnie or knock up a packed lunch and stop off for the tern. Choices, choices!

By midday we were at Farmoor Res and ticking American Black Tern (life list 355). Seeing it with WWBT and Black Tern in the same scope view was a real help on the ID front. We continued home via the M40 and 11 Red Kites arriving home mid afternoon. Little did I know at this stage I would be back at Farmoor within 4 hours on the way to Cornwall!

"Which one of the dots is it Dad?"