ML72561521
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
- Sounds
- Flight call
- Playback
- Playback not used
Media notes
Caspian Tern can also be heard in this cut.
Observation details
Incredible number! Counted three times; first, the group was at the very mouth the estuary, and at that point I counted with hand clicker 643. We then continued into the estuary for the rest of the count. As we returned, the terns had flown a little further into the estuary, in response to rising water levels, and the group was now much larger. I first tried clicking one by one with hand clicker, but soon realized that this was futile, because the boat kept floating away as we had turned off the engine, to avoid shaking from the chugging motor. I then clicked by estimated tens, and got to a little over two thousand! This was from quite some distance (maybe 150 m). We tried to get closer again, and again I tried hand clicking by tens, this time with a much better view of the group, also close enough to distinguish between the various other tern and gull species present, including many Royal Terns, Caspian Terns and Laughing Gulls. At that point, I reached 1640 with the hand clicker, and I feel this is a fairly accurate representation of the count. I then took many photos of the group as a whole and of large parts of the group, to be sure that a group this size was documented well. As I was photographing the group, they started relocating to higher ground, as their playón got inundated.
Technical information
- Recorder
- iPhone SE
- Microphone
- Accessories
- Original file size
- 8.59 MB