Terns

The Lodmoor RSPB reserve on the edge of Weymouth has a population of about 60 pairs of common terns which nest on these purpose-built islands. They arrive in May, having spent the winter in the southern hemisphere, and by the end of July the young are flying.

There's always lots of noise and activity at the colony - adult birds arriving from fishing in Weymouth Bay and going off for more, and young birds practising flying while they wait to be fed. The bird in the air is trying to get the fish from the one that's taking off, while the young bird half-hidden at the back complains 'hey dad, that's my dinner, bring it back!' The inverted drain pipes, coated in shingle, are for the small young birds to hide in when there are predators around.

The bird sitting at the front is of interest. You'll have to take my word for it, but he/she is an arctic tern, which normally breeds much further north. This bird has returned to the same bit of the same island every year for three years, paired with a common tern. Last year they raised hybrid young. The differences are subtle and don't show up at all well in this picture, so you'll just have to believe me.

Famously, some arctic terns undertake the biggest annual migration of any bird, sumering in the Arctic and wintering in the Antarctic.