Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
This individual was atypically still very much in breeding plumage at the Brigantine Unit of the Forsythe NWR in Galloway Township, NJ. The sluice gate on the eastern end of the impoundment is generally reliable for terns and gulls to congregate around in search of fish pouring out of the tidally supplied impoundment. A second look at the image and I doubted my first assessment of Forster's tern. (There were so many Forster's terns there today and we hadn't seen any Common terns, so I made a presumption…erroneously.)
Not a fantastic day for birding, but at least the Green Flies were (mostly) at bay. Makes me wonder if the number of species there is proportional to the fly population. If so, I'll brave the flies for the birds.
The Canon 40-D is a very good camera but it doesn't have the extremely fast follow-focus capability of the 1D series. But this was an excellent sequence of shots where all the frames were crisp. Still need practice following rapidly moving birds at close distances.
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
This individual was atypically still very much in breeding plumage at the Brigantine Unit of the Forsythe NWR in Galloway Township, NJ. The sluice gate on the eastern end of the impoundment is generally reliable for terns and gulls to congregate around in search of fish pouring out of the tidally supplied impoundment. A second look at the image and I doubted my first assessment of Forster's tern. (There were so many Forster's terns there today and we hadn't seen any Common terns, so I made a presumption…erroneously.)
Not a fantastic day for birding, but at least the Green Flies were (mostly) at bay. Makes me wonder if the number of species there is proportional to the fly population. If so, I'll brave the flies for the birds.
The Canon 40-D is a very good camera but it doesn't have the extremely fast follow-focus capability of the 1D series. But this was an excellent sequence of shots where all the frames were crisp. Still need practice following rapidly moving birds at close distances.