In mid to late August, the north beach of Tybee Island is a raucous place. Hundreds of Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns & Laughing Gulls are lounging about. This season's crop of juveniles are begging loudly and the parents are under the gun to bring in the fish. I had a great time watching the terns dive for fish, feed them to the kids, have food fights, and high-speed aerial chases.
There were a few Common Terns lounging about, as well as a number of Black Terns, sometimes flying by and occasionally resting on the beach. I also saw at least half-a-dozen Lesser Black-backed Gulls, plenty of Black Skimmers, and an assortment of shorebirds, including Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, Western Sandpipers, Willets, and 2 Piping Plovers (one banded.)
Here are some of the images.
 |
| Sandwich Tern on Patrol |
 |
| Sandwich Tern Hovers |
 |
| Sandwich Tern begins its dive |
 |
| Sandwich Tern Dive |
 |
| Splashdown! |
 |
| Sandwich Tern Success! |
 |
| Yum! Yellowtail! |
 |
| Royal Tern has a big one! |
 |
| Open wide, Junior! |
 |
| Cut to the Chase! |
 |
| I've got it! You can't have it |
 |
| Follow that bird with the fish! |
 |
| Food Fight |
 |
| Black Tern in Flight |
 |
| Black Terns Breeding and Molting |
 |
| Black Tern Wings Wide |
 |
| Common Tern |
 |
| Ruddy Turnstone & Sanderling |
|
 |
| Piping Plover - yellow and orange bands |
No comments:
Post a Comment