Gull Air Robbery
The Royal Terns have such interesting behavior. The chicks are able to recognize a parent's call in the din of hundreds of calls which, to a human, all sound alike. Sometimes one parent will come to the chick to help guard it when the other comes with food. The food bearing parent has to dodge Laughing Gulls which make their living and feed their young, co-existing at the same rookery, with food stolen from the terns. Often the food bearing Royal has to make several passes as it's chased by the gulls. When it does land, the passage of the fish, shrimp or squid is measured in milliseconds. Too much fun to describe. The air battles are the most difficult as they happen without notice, las only a few seconds and generally are away from the rookery. Here's one I was able to get showing the aerial skills of the Laughing Gull attempting to steal the fish. In this instance, the Royal managed to get away with the prize and feed its chick.
Gull Air Robbery
The Royal Terns have such interesting behavior. The chicks are able to recognize a parent's call in the din of hundreds of calls which, to a human, all sound alike. Sometimes one parent will come to the chick to help guard it when the other comes with food. The food bearing parent has to dodge Laughing Gulls which make their living and feed their young, co-existing at the same rookery, with food stolen from the terns. Often the food bearing Royal has to make several passes as it's chased by the gulls. When it does land, the passage of the fish, shrimp or squid is measured in milliseconds. Too much fun to describe. The air battles are the most difficult as they happen without notice, las only a few seconds and generally are away from the rookery. Here's one I was able to get showing the aerial skills of the Laughing Gull attempting to steal the fish. In this instance, the Royal managed to get away with the prize and feed its chick.