It was a perfect summer afternoon, so we decided to take a stroll to the end of Tynemouth pier and discovered that it was a favourite spot for common terns to take a break and indulge in a bit of preening....
... which is necessary if you spend most of your life diving head-first into the sea every few minutes.
Only a brief respite though, and now they were in tip-tip shape time it was time to get back to work....
.... feeding the juveniles that were parked at intervals all along the pier.
Demanding work...
.. so the parent birds' feet hardly touched the ground ...
... while their were feeding their offspring, which ....
...apart from occasionally staggering to their feet for a stretch, just sunbathed.
This herrring gull had the temerity to land near a chick and the parent bird carried out relentless attacks until the gull was driven off, which is maybe why ....
... this turnstone tip-toed past PDQ, fearful that it would be in for the same treatment.
A small flock of redshanks, driven off the Black Middens rocks at the mouth of the Tyne by the rising tide, landed in the pier briefly....
... but didn't settle for long before the terns drove them off too.
The terns even had a go at this guillemot, swimming innocently by, but it showed them a clean pair of heels.
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