Great coming of Sandwich Terns in the first weeks of April

Characteristic flight of Sandwich Tern

Some groups of Sandwich Terns and some Common Terns have been seen during the first two weeks of April in different areas of the estuary of the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve. To those seen in Bermeo's harbor, Mundaka, Elantxobe and in the medium area of the marsh, we must add 19 more Sandwich Terns that are in the marshes of Gautegiz Arteaga since the 1st of April.

Finding fishes

Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) is a migratory species, which spend the winter in Western Africa, from the coast of Mauritania to Cape of Good Hope in South Africa; having the largest wintering group in Banc d'Arguin (Mauritania), where some years they reach around 30.000 individuals. Their most important breeding areas in Western Europe are located in Denmark, Netherlands, Great Britain, France and Germany.

Nose-diving into the water

This bird appears in the Basque Coast in its migratory passages, in both spring and autumn, being the latter more noticeable. However, it is not so habitual to see them continuously over time and in so large groups. An evidence of this is are the statements of other birdwatchers in several areas of the Basque coast and in interior areas of the estuary as it is the marsh of Gautegiz Arteaga. In any case, it is an amazing spectacle to watch so close how they are nose-diving into the water finding little fishes they catch with the beak.

Resting after a great workday fishing