Spring Caspian Tern Photos Plus A Bonus Osprey Image
At the end of last month, I had the pleasure of taking Caspian Tern photos as these terns were flying and fishing at my local pond.
Black Skimmer Photo From 13 Years Ago
It was thirteen years ago today when I took this photo of an adult Black Skimmer flying over the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County, Florida.
An Assortment Of Spring Birds From Bear River MBR
Today I wanted to share an assortment of spring birds all photographed at Bear River MBR yesterday on a bright and beautiful morning.
Photographing Immature Forster’s Terns On The Hunt And Catching Prey
I had fun testing my skills by photographing several immature Forster's Terns that were hunting for and catching prey at Farmington Bay WMA two days ago.
Some Of The Birds Seen At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge During The Month of May
May is a time of renewal at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and as the marsh begins to green up the migrant birds return and along with the year round residents their songs and calls can be heard over the wetlands.
I’m On The Look Out For Caspian Terns
The day I came home from camping in the West Desert the first bird calls I heard were from several Caspian Terns in flight overhead that were squabbling and diving at each other.
Royal Tern Splashing And Bathing In A Florida Lagoon
This image of a splashing and bathing Royal Tern in a Florida lagoon was taken nearly ten years ago and I'd never processed it until today.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fall Colors on the Refuge Plus a Unique Forster’s Tern Experience
There were birds that I photographed including this Yellow-rumped Warbler who perched out in the open with the fall colors of curly docks in the background.
Caspian Tern Banded at Malheur NWR Flying over Bear River MBR
Although I didn't see it at the time I photographed this bird in flight the Caspian Tern did fly in close enough for me to capture images that showed it had bands on its legs.
Forster’s Tern With Prey At Bear River MBR
I have had fun photographing Forster's Terns the last few times I have gone to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, they are graceful, beautiful terns and they challenge my skills.
Juvenile and Adult Forster’s Terns in Flight at Bear River MBR
Right now these terns at the refuge are busy feeding their young although some of the juvenile Forster's Terns have already learned how to capture prey on their own.
Gulf Shore Black Skimmer Skimming
Black Skimmers forage by skimming their bills in the waves just off shore and snap up fish when their sensitive bills locate them.
Forster’s Tern Resting at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
A little more than a week ago I spotted this Forster's Tern resting on a log in the water at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge from the auto tour loop and I felt I had to hop out and take a few images from across the hood of my Jeep
Breeding and Nonbreeding Forster’s Terns
The differences in breeding and nonbreeding plumage of Forster's Terns is enough that some bird watching and bird photography novices might even think that they are two different species of terns.
Royal Terns Courting in Florida
The "Circling" courtship behavior of Royal Terns was one that I found interesting because as the male circled the female she moved too and kept her sides facing him.
Black Skimmer in a Fog over the Gulf of Mexico
Whenever I view this photo of a lone Black Skimmer in flight on a foggy Gulf shore I feel a wave of joy and peaceful feelings wash over me.
Hunting Forster’s Tern in breeding plumage at Bear River MBR
This Forster's Tern was hovering while hunting over a unit of water on the auto tour route of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah in clear morning light.
Courting Black Skimmers on North Beach, Fort De Soto
On a hazy, windy day in May of 2008 I was able to sand crawl on my belly close enough to some Black Skimmers to watch and photograph them courting.
Elegant Forster’s Tern in flight with a touch of added canvas
I've always loved this image of a Forster's Tern in flight because the pose is wonderful and the tern looks elegant against the gray of a distant storm cloud.
Juvenile Royal Terns on the Gulf Coast
When I lived in Florida I was able to see and photograph juvenile Royal Terns on the Gulf Coast were they could be seen along the shoreline and they were usually begging the adults for food.
Black Skimmer Skimming the Gulf
My own technique for photographing this Black Skimmer skimming the Gulf and other skimmers that day was to sit down in the water right where the waves crested and moved on shore.
An Adult Forster’s Tern Hovering Over Prey
When I photographed this Forster's Tern hovering over prey there were several others in the area doing the same thing which makes it difficult to decide on which bird to photograph.
Forster’s Tern in a Canada Goose nest
This Forster's Tern wasn't trying to take over this Canada Goose nest when I photographed it but it might look that way in this image.
Scoop Of Black Skimmers Flying Past Shell Key
I haven't seen Black Skimmers in over six years now but in my mind I can still hear them calling when I look at my images of a group of them in flight.
Welcome September…
The first day of September signals to me that cooler weather is arriving so I took a look back at some of the images I have taken in September from 2008 on.
Juvenile Royal Tern head on and an optical Illusion
Every time I look at this tern image I laugh because my mind sees a tiny starfish stuck on the birds face that is actually its bill.
Immature Sandwich Tern In Flight
I processed an older image of a juvenile Sandwich Tern in flight from my Florida archives to post this morning.
Use of Decoys for Colonial-nesting Seabirds and the Need for Protected Nesting Areas
On an extremely hot April day I was out on Egmont Key for a Florida Master Naturalist class and from a distance I thought I saw some Black Skimmers and Least Terns resting on a beach but they turned out to be decoys.
Common Tern and friends
One July morning at 2008 I came across quite a few Common Terns at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach.
Sandwich Tern and a pastel sky
I have tons of images I haven't processed and last week while searching for a Royal Tern to post I came across this Sandwich Tern I had taken in Florida in 2009.