NATURE CLICKS #627 - FORSTER’S TERNS

Forster’s Tern, Lake Erie, East Harbor State Park, Ohio

Our second campsite on the way to the coast of Maine was in East Harbor State Park in the Sandusky Bay area of Lake Erie in Ohio. The beach there gets some protection by four artificial breakwater rock structures, made out of piled up boulders and rocks. These stretched out little islands were a perfect resting place for a good number of gulls and Forster’s Terns. While I was swimming there I realized that the birds didn’t seem to be bothered by my or other people’s presence. I went back to shore, picked up the camera with the 600 f/6,3 lens, and waded slowly back to the rocks. Standing in the water up to my hips I had a great time watching the birds and shooting pictures for twenty minutes. I just want to share some of my favorites today.

There were enough rocks to sit on but some terns had obviously a reason to chase the competition away.

I love the gesture of this Forster’s Tern, taking care of its feathers.

Many terns were in process of changing from their breeding to the non-breeding plumage.

Ring-billed Gulls are a bit larger than the terns and shared the same habitat.

PHOTOS OF A GRAY BUT EVENTFUL DAY

As my headline already says, it was a rainy, windy, and gray day. No reason to stay home. There was a lot going on in the Green Island Wetlands. Yes, photography sucks a little bit if sky and water look gray but a number of clicks were made. 

Forster’s Tern

Shortly after arrival in the wetlands I spotted a Forster’s Tern flying at me. This is not a bird we can see every day in the Mississippi Valley, although I have photographed them before. Not the sharpest image either but I want to mention its presence.

Sandhill Crane

I saw this single Sandhill Crane twice today. No partner around. Two weeks ago we still saw a pair in this area and it makes me wonder if the other bird is on a nest somewhere between the reeds. Sandhill Cranes mate for life and both parents incubate the eggs during the day, but at night only by the female.

Barn Swallow

Hundreds of swallows have arrived. I saw Barn Swallows everywhere in large numbers, desperately hunting for insects. With the cold weather we had today, it may have been a challenge for so many birds to find enough food after the long way of migration. Among them were Tree Swallows, but this species has been here since a few weeks already, and also a few Bank Swallows were present.

Cliff Swallows (and possibly a Bank Swallow)

A kettle of at least 200 Cliff Swallows used one of the parking lots for boat trailers as a place to rest, warm up, and for catching insects all around. The Cliff Swallows build mud nests, mostly on a sheltered cliff or underneath bridges. I look forward to watch them here in the Little Maquoketa River Valley again this summer.

NATURE CLICKS #354 - FORSTER’S TERN

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, California ---------

It is hard to believe that it was already a month ago when I visited the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, California. I hope you don’t mind if I show another image here in the blog, even if it is not “real fresh” anymore.

If you follow my blog regularly, you know that I never liked the fact that in most places in the wetlands you can’t really shoot near the water level. You are supposed to stay on the trail or levee and that is always higher located. Nevertheless, there is one spot where you can go a little lower (still not low enough) and look over a sand bank that is not submerged in water. At low tide hundreds of birds use it as a resting place or forage in the sand and between the stones. Dozens of Forster’s Terns are among them and they are now in their winter plumage. I have photographed them here at the Mississippi River during migration but never more than two at any time.