March 26, 2017 - Sanibel - Royal Terns

Royal Terns were a common sight on the beach at Sanibel Island during our visit in January. At a length of 20 inches, they are the second largest tern species in the United States. We saw them in non-breeding plumage. During the breeding season, the whole top of the head, from the eye up, will be black. This photo was taken at sunset, resulting in a pink tinge to the sand.

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When I walked along the beach about a mile from where we stayed, I usually found a large group of terns resting on the sand. I would kneel down near them in the sand and take photos as the birds flew by to join or leave the group.

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As this tern flew by, it spotted something in the water and dipped down to grab it.

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Birds always land into the wind. I positioned myself with the wind at my back. Then, as they turned to make a landing, I would get shots like this.

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Sometimes I was lucky enough to get them with their wings fully stretched out. The wingspan of a Royal Tern is 41 inches.

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The beach looks pretty full already but this bird did find a small space in which to land.

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Some shots resulted in wing positions that looked pretty awkward.

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