A mighty Arctic Tern
Monday 7th June comments:
Today was a sad day as we lost one of our own – an adult nesting Arctic Tern has gone and isn’t coming back. Over all my years I’ve seen Arctic Terns lost to old age, Peregrine attack, Greater Black-backed Gull mauling and even a Great Skua raid, but I’ve never encountered the loss of one of our birds to a human visitor.
Today, a visitor decided to grab a garden cane (marking an Eider nest) and whack an Arctic Tern out of the sky, damaging its wing beyond repair and killing the bird. The adult, simply defending its nest, was one of many which nest along the pathways on Inner Farne and was sitting on two eggs. Arctic Terns winter in the southern oceans and despite the perils and dangers of such huge migrations on an annual basis, this poor individual was lost to something which should have known better.
15 stone Vs 40 grams – there is only going to be one winner. So thank you ‘visitor’ – please don’t return, as one idiot for the year is enough – your village missed you today. We’re here to protect these birds, not swot them like flies – I hope he feels fully ashamed tonight, but I very much doubt it. The Farne’s will mourn a loss but for anyone visiting in the future – these birds are simply defending their nests and please give them the respect they deserve. Its been a sad day.
Today was a sad day as we lost one of our own – an adult nesting Arctic Tern has gone and isn’t coming back. Over all my years I’ve seen Arctic Terns lost to old age, Peregrine attack, Greater Black-backed Gull mauling and even a Great Skua raid, but I’ve never encountered the loss of one of our birds to a human visitor.
Today, a visitor decided to grab a garden cane (marking an Eider nest) and whack an Arctic Tern out of the sky, damaging its wing beyond repair and killing the bird. The adult, simply defending its nest, was one of many which nest along the pathways on Inner Farne and was sitting on two eggs. Arctic Terns winter in the southern oceans and despite the perils and dangers of such huge migrations on an annual basis, this poor individual was lost to something which should have known better.
15 stone Vs 40 grams – there is only going to be one winner. So thank you ‘visitor’ – please don’t return, as one idiot for the year is enough – your village missed you today. We’re here to protect these birds, not swot them like flies – I hope he feels fully ashamed tonight, but I very much doubt it. The Farne’s will mourn a loss but for anyone visiting in the future – these birds are simply defending their nests and please give them the respect they deserve. Its been a sad day.
19 comments:
Unbelievable! I would have had the rozzas waiting at Seahouses for the moron! Isn't six months in jail for that type of offence?
Scum
I agree with Ipin - I'm almost speechless with disbelief and anger. I wish I could meet that moron with a cane in my hand....
I was there on Friday and you get enough warnings from the people you buy tickets from, the boatpeople, the other visitors and the wardens when you get there so after 4 warnings and you can see whats going on as soon as you get off the boat, so why not keep your arse glued to the boat. Because you didnt bother to take any notice you should be arrested and charged.
PS Regards to Tom (Nice Guy)
Can you ban people from coming/returning? I agree with others, he should have been charged..
isn't it illegal to disturb nesting birds anyway?
I know what - let's get this bloke and have a whole line of us with canes....
I'm afraid being a moron is no defense for this behaviour. Absolutely shocking.
John
White hot anger is all i feel when i read this..give me ONE minute alone with this thug...but then again thats just coming down to the level of this totally utterly sad piece of moronic trash...Mighty Tern..one stupid weak human
i,m literally stunned that anyone going on one of those trips could act like that.can,t they be punished?if they got away with it they might think of doing similar again........
Shocking, how did you manage not to kick the living daylights out of him.
Very sad indeed.
That is is a criminal offence, I hope you called the police.
Glad it wasn't while I was there, I'd probably have lamped them.
i do hope that this person will be aproached by the police and rspb and taken to court
Only just seen this post, the guy deserves to be lamped and then charged for criminal offences - nothing would be too nasty for such an asscake
I find these response comments rather horrific and pre-judgmental. If this person was a non-birder and had decided on a "day out" at the Farnes, maybe with his family, and not knowing what to expect from the behaviour of breeding terns, I can sympathise with his reaction.
I have seen Bonxies clubbed to death in a similar situation in NW Scotland.
Some of you "arm-chair judges" need to think a little more deeply about this.
Sorry Colin, but you are very very wrong. I'm not an arm chair judge, I just a decent human being that sees that this type of behaviour is un-necessary and wrong.My reaction was based on the blog, and had I seen it as described, I would have reacted towards this thug in a way that poor defenseless bird couldn't. This type of behaviour should have zero tolerance from anyone seeing it.
Colin from what u are saying its ok to club/cane bonxies or terns to death if they happen to upset unwary visitors? Sorry but you sound like an armchair apologist to me
Sorry Colin, like the others here I must disagree with your viewpoint, and as I said before this guy appears to have committed a criminal offence, so surely we should let a court of law decide whether or not he is guilty of this offence ?
I disagree with Colin too, there is plenty of warning given to visitors in literature, from the boat operators and the wardens that the terns divebomb people, and you can see them from the Jetty. He should never have stepped of the boat if he couldn't handle it.
Like I said....scum!
Perhaps we shouldn't overreact to this one incident, sad as it is. Occasionally these things will happen, it is one of the risks of allowing public access.
By the way, I enjoyed seeing the Farne Islands on Channel Four News! The decline in the puffin population is obviously a concern, but good to hear that it is being investigated.
Emile
shocked and saddened. have we really lost touch with nature so much?
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