Simon Barnes Author and Journalist

Sports and Wild Blog

Simon Barnes
  • Home
  • Biog
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Pictures
  • Contact
  • Twitter

Winged bananas

19 May 2016 by Simon Barnes 1 Comment

Wiik! Kruit-kruit! Kit-kit-kit. Kekechak! Ra-ga-ga-ra-ga-ga! Purrittittit! Chi-ti-ti-ti-ti-tk!

I’m sure you have instantly recognised the voice of little tern from this. I got it from the nine-volume Birds of the Western Palaearctic.

I heard at least some of these sounds and turned my head to see a merry party of ten or so little terns fishing just offshore as I was approaching Walberswick on the Suffolk coast. I sat on the shingle bank to enjoy the show, for the birds were in a state of tremendous excitement, at every opportunity plunging seawards and looking like winged daggers as they did so.

But the beaks are bright yellow so perhaps they’re more like winged bananas. Either way they’re back from a winter at sea and eyeing the roped-off area of beach where they will soon assemble a few stones and pretend they’re nests. One bird flew triumphantly away from the rest with a silver treasure in his yellow beak: perhaps a present for the gorgeous little tern he has his eye on.

If all goes well they will raise young together right here. If they do so, the young will say: “Ppeppieppiepp!”

You can’t argue with facts like that.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Posted in Wildblog

Comments

  1. Michael John Clark says

    25 May 2016 at 11:09 am

    What would we do without little terns and onomatopoeia?!

    Reply

Please leave a comment Cancel reply

Receive Blog Updates By Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5,416 other subscribers.

Recent Comments

  • Penny Woollams on Swift as a bow from an arrow…
  • Rob Howell on Swift as a bow from an arrow…
  • Jolyon Barton on Swift as a bow from an arrow…
  • Michael Clark on Cousin Caterpillar… one day he’ll wake with wings
  • Alan P on Swift as a bow from an arrow…

Categories

  • Myblog (7)
  • Sportsblog (7)
  • Wildblog (215)

Archives

  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014

© Simon Barnes · info@simonbarnesauthor.co.uk
Home page photograph © David Bebber · Bird drawings © foxillustration.com
Created by Purple Hippo

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.