Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)

These Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia), no doubt hearing of my frustration with my latest birding adventures, contrived to pose in perfect stillness while I clambered ever closer. In fact aside from one's distress at an encroaching seagull (left) they hardly moved for a half an hour while I crept closer and closer. I have seen Caspian Terns on Esquimalt Lagoon before but never so close up. Technically these photos are an improvement on my latest bird photos (these, at least, are in focus) but aesthetically I still have a long way to go. The photo on the left nicely shows the dark underside of the wing that is characteristic of these terns and gives some indication of their size in comparison with our ubiquitous seagulls.

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)

I was out at Esquimalt Lagoon on the weekend and managed to capture this close-up of a Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia). I have seen Caspian Terns at the lagoon before but never more than three or four. On this day this bird was the only tern I saw and he was content to stay on the ground while I was around. I was hoping that after he had given me some static close-ups he would do some fishing. These terns are a pleasure to watch when they are hunting. They hover high above the water like kingfishers and then suddenly plunge down onto the small fish that are their prey. The first recorded sighting of a Caspian Tern in this area was in 1959 but since then they have been regularly seen in the summer.

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)

The first time I saw terns like these I had no telephoto lens with me but that didn't stop me from enjoying their hovering and missile-like diving. The photo above is the second time I saw them out at Esquimalt Lagoon but they were quite far away and mostly obscured by the many seagulls surrounding them. I am not 100% certain of my identification of these birds as Caspian Terns. They are the birds in this photo with the large red bills. The distinguishing feature that I think identifies them as Caspian Terns is the black feet and legs visible on the tern just coming in for a landing in this photo.