View allAll Photos Tagged CommonTerns
Wrightsville Beach, NC. Most of my shots this morning were taken into the sun, but I liked the stronger colors of most of them.
France; Brenne 3/5/21. A bit distant but they usually are here. Still a scarce summer visitor to the Brenne
France; Brenne 3/5/21. A bit distant but they usually are here. Still a scarce summer visitor to the Brenne
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) flying along the shore of Reed Lake in search of small minnows. The overcast conditions resulted in low light and difficult shooting conditions. Reed Lake is located along the Trans Canada Highway in southern Saskatchewan east of Swift Current, Canada.
21 May, 2016.
Slide # GWB_20160521_0920.CR2
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I never tire of watching these birds and the elegant shapes they make when they're hunting for fish.
"The Common Tern is the most widespread and familiar North American tern, known and appreciated for its attractive plumage and graceful flight, and for its long history as a symbol of the conservation movement. It was widely sought after in the late 19th century for the millinery trade, in which feathers, wings, or entire stuffed terns were mounted on fashionable women’s hats." Birds of the World
Point Pleasant Beach NJ
Many thanks to all who take the time to view, comment and faved my images. Enjoy the day.
On this gloomy wet day I thought I'd go back to early summer for this post. For a few moments this Common Tern landed fairly close to me on the edge of the north basin at Staines Reservoir enabling me to get this shot. Watching these was a highlight of the summer for me.
An adult Common Tern brings in a fish to feed its dependent young hatchling. See yesterday’s post for the intended recipient. Unlike the independent piping plovers which flit all over the beach in search of food, Common Tern nestlings stay close to home for the first weeks in their lives in anticipation of the next meal. Both species require frequent brooding for warmth and safety at this young stage. June 2017
Sterna hirundo
St Aidan's Yorkshire
The terns court each other in the air and on the ground. In flight the male crouches while the female passes over him until they descend to the ground in a zigzag glide. Courting continues on the ground with the male tipping his head down and holding his wings down and out from the body while walking around the female, who points her head upward. The male starts offering food to the female, eventually feeding her almost exclusively as the pair bond is cemented.
Another shot from my encounter with this lovely Common Tern, here its stretching its wing's and preparing to take off which it did moments later. I took far too many images of this bird, but it's not often you get up close to these lovely birds especially here in Surrey.
One of this year’s few surviving common tern chicks at Nickerson Beach. As mentioned in yesterday’s post, tragically, most of them died out within days of hatching. While I was there last week, only a few remained. This hardy survivor is beginning to swap its downy feathers with a more permanent set. Still enough baby fluff to make it adorable as it ran around, stretching its neck and calling for food to be delivered. These seabirds are only semi-precocial. Although they are born feathered and immediately running around, they are fed by parents for a few weeks before learning to hunt for themselves.