Elegant Tern

I eventually made it to Beale in North Kerry to see the Elegant Tern.  It was a very wet and blustery afternoon with lots of bird activity in the mouth of the Shannon and I first picked up the Elegant Tern feeding far out in the bay with Sandwich Terns.  A heavy squall of rain drove the terns and other gulls onto the beach to avoid the rain.I snapped off a few shots of the bird as it flew past heading up the beach to roost within a mixed gull and tern flock further west.  The Semi-palmated Sandpiper was also on the beach and two Arctic Skuas were hunting the outer bay.

 Elegant Tern, Beale Point, Kerry © John N Murphy