View allAll Photos Tagged CASPIAN
Hydroprogne caspia,
Morro Strand State Beach,
Morro Bay, California
Under unusual, smoky skies due to fires in California.
While taking photos of shorebirds out on the beach, I also noticed a small group of Caspian Terns. Seemed to be young ones waiting for something. One adult Tern showed up with a small fish and paraded it back and forth among the group, then singled out one and led it away from the rest and fed the fish to him. I didn't actually see the transfer as the bird's back was to me, but next thing I knew the youngster had the fish.
Pleased to see a Caspian Tern fishing this morning, as it passes through on its migration. A birder friend told me they'd seen a pair this morning, I just saw one of them, but it was actively fishing.
Minnesota Valley National Widlife Refuge
Not my sharpest shot - we were supposed to be having a sociable lunch but I kept getting side-tracked. I like that it has closed its nictating membrane so it doesn't get water in its eye. Taken at Bakau, Gambia
Now I know this isn't going to attract much attention, nor is it going to win photographic plaudits, but it is my first self-found Caspian Gull at my local Ingbirchworth Reservoir, taken this afternoon. Caspian Gull used to be considered a race of Herring Gull but there are a number of features that distinguish it and was formally split in 2007. At this time of year it has a pure white head unlike the brown-streaked heads of Herring Gulls. The bill is long and looks parallel-sided because it doesn't have much of a swelling on the lower mandible (known as the gonys). The long bill is accentuated by a shallowly sloping forehead. The eye is also usually dark, and it has longer wings and legs than Herring Gull. If you compare with a Herring Gull they really do have a different look about them: www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/29977777457/in/photolist
Caspian gulls breeds around the Black and Caspian Seas, extending eastwards across Central Asia to north-west China. In Europe, it has been spreading north and west and now breeds in Poland and eastern Germany, where they come into contact with Herring Gulls and sometimes interbreed. Some Caspian Gulls migrate south as far as the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, while others disperse into Western Europe. Small numbers are now seen regularly in Britain. Its scientific name Larus cachinnans translates as "laughing gull" from the call: www.xeno-canto.org/580768 . Confusingly there is another bird called Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla).
Seen from the pontoon boat along Rondeau's sand spit near Erieau.
Hydroprogne caspia
The oldest recorded wild Caspian Tern was at least 29 years, 7 months old when it was found in Louisiana in 1989. It had been banded in Michigan in 1959. The average life span of Great Lakes Caspian Terns is estimated to be 12 years.
source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
About 7:00 a.m. with a little fog and three quarters across the lake. Had to take the shot for this is another first for me. There were two of them this morning at Peace Valley Park, New Britain Pa.
There was one calm adult Caspian Tern in the flock of Elegant Terns and Gulls. I hope it sticks around so I can get my golden light shot next week.
I had an awesome time photographing these two Caspian Terns on the beach in Mexico. The bird on the right was constantly pestering the bird on the left, following it around everywhere giving a high-pitched call. I'd suspect it was a young bird that was begging for food.
Taken in Neuvo Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico - December 2016.
It was quite fun to watch male bird displaying with bowing movements of the head and offerings of fish to attract a female mate.
Press "L".
Pentax 67ii, SMC 45mm f4, Lee GND 0.6 HE, Heliopan SH-PMC CPL, Fujifilm Provia 100F (RDPIII), self-developed in Fuji Hunt Chrome 6X, IT8-calibrated & wet-mounted drumscan.