Forster's Terns Again

I've been practicing my tern photography. Even though they are screeching past at rocket-like ninja speeds, I've figured out a few things that helped me get some slightly better shots.

First, the terns are somewhat predictable. They fly in big loops around a certain area (often the bird islands) again and again. So if you miss once, just wait a bit and you'll get a second chance.

Second, the camera's autofocus is way too slow. So to compensate, hold the button halfway and keep on holding it, locking in the focus at the right depth. Even if it takes 5 minutes for the tern to come back.

Third, do not attempt to photograph terns when there are geese nearby.

I also got some blurry photos that serve to illustrate how terns hunt:

Scope out the scene. Fly in a big loop.

Look straight down. There's gotta be a fish somewhere in all that algae.


Swoop down and investigate. Nope, that's not a fish.

Back up for another look. Hover. Oh THERE it is!


And SPLASH!

Gloat. Nyeh-nyeh, I got you fishy!

More Signs of Spring, or, a hodgepogerry of photography

It's staying light in the evening now, long enough to walk around and get some good shots after dinner. Who's hanging out at the lake these days? (Besides me!?)

Forster's terns are still around and eating fish bigger than their heads! Look at the razor sharp tail on that ninja seabird.

Hummingbird that color coordinates itself with its perch:

Check out the lovely blue green face of this great egret.

And check out egret's supercool park bench hangout. I like its posture here--it had just flown up and landed.

It also comes with a very extendable head, and a bad urban attitude. It was actually taller than me when it did this:


Random turtle. They show up in the lake periodically. They may be washing downstream during the rains, or people may be releasing unwanted pets into the lake. Either way, brackish water is not good for turtles. At least this one made it to the beach:


For Heidi: here are the goslings I promised. This is the third group I've seen, and I think this pair is actually the two I made fun of earlier for defending the spot on top of the chain link maintenance cage. I don't know how you geese did it, but I think you did it. There are three babies; can you spot them all?


And buckeye is blooming now, an adaptation that lets a broad-leaved deciduous tree survive California's summer--it makes a very early effort to get pollinated before it runs out of water and sheds all its leaves around July:

Sightings: The mystery of the Forster's Tern

New friends are showing up at the lake as spring turns to summer... I think this is a Forster's tern. Two years ago there were a ton of these guys hanging out at the lake all summer. I even saw a fledgling tern. Last year, I didn't see any! I wonder if they have decided to give the lake another try this year.

This is another bird that you might not notice right away (especially if you are expecting only seagulls). But you can often hear their distinctive calls, which they seem to make as they chase each other around (read "constantly.") If you get a closer look, you can see that they have forked tails, black heads, and wings so pointy they could be used as ninja stars.


Harder to capture on film is their hunting technique--they fly staring down into the water, and if they spot something, flip a 180 and plunge straight down into the water with a splash.