On a weekend day, as we were driving through the polder in our car, a black tern flew alongside us. It suddenly dawned on me that I had never really had a good opportunity to see one up close. Yes, I had caught a fleeting glimpse once in the Eempolder and perhaps another time elsewhere. So, I decided to take an evening drive to an area where they breed. The breeding grounds were closed off to walkers, but there were plenty of footpaths surrounding the area where they could still be spotted. I didn’t have to wait long. The breeding season started a bit later this year, but many of the chicks were already proficient flyers, yet still eagerly relied on their parents for nourishment. This led them to scour the entire area for food.
