View allAll Photos Tagged CASPIAN
This is Caspian, our new sweet little (noisy) kitty cat. We adopted him almost a month ago from Brooklyn animal action (a "New Hope" partner with animal care and control)
He's one year old, likes to play and "talk" and go for long meandering strolls outside on his leash.
Caspian Tern - Hydroprogne caspia - Чеграва
Sharm el-Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, 01/08/2014
Note the silver and green band on the left leg. That's the only reason I am posting this!
Bird banded on Copper River Delta, Alaska on July 14, 2012. Seen in Richmond, BC on August 26, 2012. WOW!
As large as a big gull, the Caspian Tern is the largest tern in the world. Its large coral red bill makes it one of the most easily identified terns throughout its worldwide range.
Adult Description
•Large, gull-like tern.
•Black cap.
•Body white.
•Bill large, thick, and brilliant red with dark tip.
Immature Description
Juvenile has blackish crown, black edging to back feathers.
Cool Facts
•The oldest known wild Caspian Tern lived to be more than 26 years old. Average life span of Great Lakes Caspian Terns is estimated to be 12 years.
•The Caspian Tern aggressively defends its breeding colony. It will pursue, attack, and chase potential predatory birds, and can cause bloody wounds on the heads of people who invade the colony. The entire colony will take flight, however, when a Bald Eagle flies overhead, exposing the chicks to predation from gulls.
•The largest breeding colony in North America is off the coast of Oregon. Increasing numbers of terns at this site have caused problems with young salmon releases, some of them endangered species. Efforts are being made to move the colony to other areas, away from the fish stocking programs.
•Young Caspian Terns appear to have a difficult time learning to catch fish efficiently. They stay with their parents for long periods of time, and are fed by them even on the wintering grounds. Many young terns do not return to the nesting grounds for several years, remaining instead on the wintering areas.
Measurements
Both Sexes
Length18.5–21.3 in
47–54 cmWingspan47.2–53.1 in
120–135 cmWeight18.7–27.6 oz
530–782 g
Other Names
•Sterne Caspienne (French)
•Charrán caspia, Pagaza Piquirroja (Spanish)
Habitat
Shore-line
•Breeds in wide variety of habitats along water, such as salt marshes, barrier islands, dredge spoil islands, freshwater lake islands, and river islands.
•During migration and winter found along coastlines, large rivers and lakes. Roosts on islands and isolated spits.
Food
Almost entirely fish; occasionally crayfish and insects.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
Egg DescriptionBuff, sparingly marked with dark spots and sometimes large irregular blotches.Condition at HatchingEyes open. Covered with down and able to leave nest (usually after several days).
Nest Description
A scrape in ground. Lined often with dried vegetation, small pebbles, broken shells or other debris. May have elaborate rim of sticks. Nesting colonies occur on island beaches, often near colonies of other bird species.
Behavior
Flies over water with bill pointing down; plunges into water to catch fish.
Taken at Blackie Spit Park, Surrey, BC.
Eleven Bonaparte's and 2 Glaucous-winged gulls are also present in the background behind the 5 Caspian Terns.
Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans), 4th calendar year
Barneveld waste dump, The Netherlands, November 13, 2012. Fourth-calendar year Caspian Gull.
(See also the other images of this individual taken on this date.)
Pontische Meeuw (Larus cachinnans), 4de kalenderjaar
Barneveld vuilnisbelt, 13 november 2012. Vierde-kalenderjaar Pontische Meeuw.
(Zie ook de andere foto's van dit individu gemaakt op deze datum.)
A Caspian Tern, Sterna caspia, looking for a smal fish to dive at off the northern coast of Belle Isle.