An early Black Tern at Carr Mill Dam

An incredibly early summer plumage black tern at Carr Mill Dam today raised the excitement levels a little. It was of particular interest because it is apparently the first in the UK this year and currently the only bird in the country, the winds have been completely wrong to produce black tern and it is very possibly the earliest ever Lancashire record. 

We discussed the possibility of it being an adult American black tern and in certain light if you tried hard you could see a pale leading edge to the wing and the underwing looked particularly pale, almost white. Unfortunately though the pale leading edge didn't go far enough around the wing, it needs to go past the carple joint for American, and most of the time the underwing looked grey rather than white. The clincher though was the body, which was grey rather than jet black which is a requirement of the American bird.

It was first found on Thursday (7th April).