This morning's porpoise watch was moving along nicely when my brother spotted this Peregrine taking a Sandwich Tern off the water to the right of the lookout. I quickly trained the binos and then the lens on them and this is what unfolded over the next twenty minutes or so. The Peregrine at one stage was actually in the water wrestling with the tern. It lifted it out and tried to carry it off. By this time several gulls were in the chase and the scene was electric. With several gulls chasing it was forced to drop the tern. Not daunted though it quickly did a 360 and swooped to reclaim it's prey. Again mobbed it dropped the tern and amazingly the tern flew off the water but was taken again as the Peregrine snatched it out of the air. By now I guess the Peregrine was getting tired and eventually he gave up and flew off to the east followed unbelievably by the tern leading a pack of chasing gulls. Some twenty minutes later we spotted the tern now in a sorry state drifting past the lookout on the tide when shortly after it was despatched by some hungry herring gulls.
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| With chasing gulls it was forced to drop the tern. |
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| It picked it up again only to drop it a second time. |
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| Amazingly the tern flew off. |
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| but only to be taken again in mid air. |
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| Eventually the Peregrine now tired flew off without the tern and again the tern flew off toward Makerel point chased by gulls. |
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| Twenty one minutes later and the tern was drifting past the lookout some 80mtrs out. |
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| Only now it was to be despatched by this and other herring gulls as it drifted away. |
