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Some birds simply take your breath away – and the Arctic tern is certainly one of them. Not only does it undertake the greatest migratory journey of any creature on the planet, it also looks more graceful than any bird has a right to. And to cap it all, when you walk through its territory, it attacks with all the ferocity and purpose of a lion defending its cubs.
My family and I discovered this when we visited the Farne Islands this summer. Lying just off the coast of Northumberland, this scattered archipelago has been described as one of the best places to encounter nature in the northern hemisphere.
I have been to the Farnes many times before, but this was my children's first visit. From the moment we left the harbour at Seahouses they were assailed by birds: waves of puffins and guillemots, squadrons of gannets, and as we neared the islands, the terns themselves – with tails, as my daughter Daisy put it, 'like angels' wings'.
But it was when we made landfall that the fun really started. Even as you walk up the path from the jetty, the terns begin to intimidate you: uttering their witch-like cackle as they float effortlessly alongside. Some perch on posts by the path, so close you can photograph them with a wide-angle lens.
Then – just when you think you may escape unscathed – comes the attack. You are advised to wear a hat or, as my son Charlie did, hold a stick above your head. Even with this defence, he and his brother George were attacked several times as they ran the gauntlet from the jetty to the other end of the island.
Once I got through – amazingly unscathed – I discovered a more amenable pair of terns perched conveniently on the white stone wall of the lighthouse. They allowed me to take a memorable series of pictures, and also to marvel at the incredible journey that lies ahead of them.
For in the next month or so, the terns will leave the sanctuary of these little lumps of rock and head south – not, as our other migrants do, to the Mediterranean or Africa, but all the way to Antarctica, a distance of at least ten thousand miles.
They will spend the winter in the southern oceans, amidst icebergs, albatrosses and penguins, before returning north again next spring to breed. By doing so they not only break the record for the longest journey of any species, they also experience more hours of daylight than any other living creature.
As we returned to the jetty, we passed a tiny chick, nestling in the grass at the side of the path. Whether this little fellow will grow quickly enough to make that mammoth voyage, it is hard to say. As we sailed away, I found myself hoping that he does.
Arctic terns feature on this week's episode of Britain's Big Wildlife Revival, produced by Stephen Moss, on Sunday 25 August on BBC1.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
