an elegant tern

Other people's hobbies always seem a trifle mad if you don't share their passion. Why on earth would anybody sit fishing under a wet tarpaulin for hours, and then throw the fish back in? Or build model planes you can't fly in?  Or (like me) buy a lot of fabric, cut it into little squares and sew them all back together?

Last week I went to paint with friends at a lovely coastal nature reserve, and I was surprised to find that not only could I not get into the car park, but I ended up leaving the car about a mile up the road, perilously perched on the verge. It was a beautiful day for a walk, though, so that wasn't a problem.

When I arrived at the shore I discovered the reason for all the crowds- LOTS of twitchers! Apparently they were all watching a single 'elegant tern' who should have been in California but was snuggling up to one of our common old British terns with a view to creating a nest full of not-so-elegant babies!
















The nature reserve warden said that men (and they were 99 percent men) had come from as far away as Glasgow for that elusive 'tick'.

What an opportunity for a fun painting, though!

We didn't see the elegant tern, but I hope it has a happy time on the British foreshore. It seems a shame to treat it just as a statistic, though, rather than enjoying the beautiful weather and atmosphere of the place.