View allAll Photos Tagged CommonTerns
Sometimes I get in my head a photo I want, two terns facing off mid air, beaks wide open, well lit nicely spaced apart, not too close to each other not too far away and of course critically sharp. On first look my thoughts were too close and overlapping , no catchlight in the eyes and the top birds wings are out of the focal plane. …then I saw what was happening, the top bird in mid air is biting the wing of the lower bird in the battle! Suddenly I didn’t care about the technical flaws and this is one of my favourite images.
I don't often see these guys resting near the shore. They are almost always flying around or diving for fish.
Thank you for visiting my site and taking the time to leave a comment. Truly appreciated!
It is only fitting that whilst I sit at my desk with my stomach rumbling I post a photo of a no doubt equally hungry subject. A hearty home made winter soup and break will suffice for me whilst this Common Tern will make do with yet another unidentified fishy morsel.
Photo taken at St Aidans Country Park.
Adult Common Tern feeding it's chick a fish half it's size. It struggled, but did manage to get it down. Nickerson Beach Park, Long Island NY.
One from the seashore in Baku.
Although the environment looks spotless within the city, alas the shore of the Caspian Sea isn't. Along great stretches of the coastline there is a smell of oil and in some places a thick black sludge can be seen floating in one or two small bays.
The fact that a few seabirds like this Common Tern could be seen quartering the shore does show that there is life in the water (I did see one tern flying with a small fish in its beak). That being said seabirds of any sort were few and far between.
I know that the oil industry in Baku is what has paid for the massive amount of development in the city, but if the authorities are serious about promoting the city as a destination to rival Dubai they really do need to clean up their act when its comes to oil spillages.
The Common Tern drinks on the wing, dipping its bill in the water with its wings held up. They can drink saltwater or freshwater—like many seabirds, they have nasal glands that excrete excess salt.
I had some trouble with the ID of this bird.
Terns and Gulls are an area of bird ID that I am working on. Thankfully I have a 'go to' person to help. Lancy Cheng, Thank-you Very much. You are one of the best I know for Bird ID.
McCormacks Beach,
Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia,
August 2, 2020
394A7017
350) Common Tern
Common Tern, Sterna hirundo, Camar Siput
This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. In Malaysia, during migratory season, this species can be found at coastal areas, shores, mudflats and estuary. The common tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, from a height of 1–6 m, either in the sea or in freshwater lakes and large rivers. The bird may submerge for a second or so, but to no more than 50 cm below the surface. When seeking fish, this tern flies head-down and with its bill held vertically. It may circle or hover before diving, and then plunges directly into the water.
Exif: f8, 1/800, ISO 500, focal length 800mm, Cik Canon EOS 80D, lens Canon 400mm, TC 2.0, car window