Sunday, February 20, 2011

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.

2 comments:

  1. I was just down at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge yesterday and you would have enjoyed all the birds I saw. Unfortunately it was so windy and cold that none of the raptors made an appearance.

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  2. What a great bird - you can see them in Australia as well.

    Have a look here!

    http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-world-tuesday-1.html

    Cheers Stewart M

    ReplyDelete

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