Terns of Bolsa Chica

The Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach is part of the largest coastal
wetlands restoration in Southern California. Bolsa Chica is a stop on the Pacific Flyway,
a migratory route over which a billion birds migrate (20% of the birds in the United States).

Bolsa Chica is an excellent place to see Terns. There are Elegant Terns, Forster’s Terns,
Least Terns, Common Terns, Caspian Terns, Royal Terns and others. 68 images on this
page concentrate on portraits and flight shots of the Forster’s Tern and the Elegant Tern.

Everything happens very quickly when photographing Terns, except when they are soaring.
You have to stay on your toes and make exposure, composition and EV decisions rapidly.

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
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Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections: Terns and Skimmers

First, a few closeups to introduce you to our subjects.

Angry Forster’s Tern X0008 M

The Forster’s Tern is an aggressive medium-sized Tern that,
like many of its cousins, feeds by plunging into the water after fish.
Here it is enthusiastically defending its favorite fence post perch.

Forster’s Tern Closeup HS1210

In breeding plumage (spring to mid-summer) they have an orange bill with a black tip
to go along with their orange legs and black head cap. Capturing eye detail is challenging.

Forster’s Tern Closeup HS1264

The Forster’s Tern has a long, forked tail and a white body and wings.

Angry Forster’s Tern X0987 M

Did I mention that they are very aggressive?

Elegant Tern Close Portrait X4570c

The Elegant Tern is larger than the Forster’s Tern, with black legs,
a more strongly-curved orange bill, and less feather fringe between the
rear corners of the bill and the bottom of the black cap below the eyes.

Elegant Tern X4558

The Elegant Tern is also an aggressive feeder but is less obnoxious
in its general demeanor than the Forster’s Tern. It is Elegant, after all.

Elegant Tern HS4707 M

A close flight portrait of an Elegant Tern adjusting its tail and wing positions for the vagaries of the wind.

Elegant Tern Takeoff X4657c

An Elegant Tern bursts out of the water after an unsuccessful dive for a wily and elusive fish. The image above is a detail crop from the landscape version of the image, which is shown further below in the Takeoffs section of this page.

Elegant Tern Takeoff X4684c

Elegant Tern Water Takeoff

Now that you know the players... on with the show.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
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Birds Collections: Terns and Skimmers

Forster’s Tern Portrait X0746

Forster’s Tern Portrait X0783

Forster’s Tern Portrait X0781c

Forster’s Tern with Fish X0024

Forster’s Tern with Fish HS1252

Elegant Tern with Fish HS5472

Elegant Tern with Fish HS5479

Elegant Tern with Spitting Fish HS5471

Clumsy Tern Dropping Fish X5003

Elegant Tern with Fish HS5009

Terns Competing for Fish HS5044

Catching a fish does not always mean you are going to eat it...
Here, one Tern tries to abscond with a tasty fish from a colleague.

Elegant Tern with Fish HS5386

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections: Terns and Skimmers

Takeoffs

Tern under Water X4634

Terns dive for fish, sometimes plunging shallow as shown above, and sometimes deeper.
The dive occurs instantly, when the bird sees a fish from overhead, and when you see a bird
dive you invariably have your lens on something else. You whip the lens over to the spot where
the bird entered the water (they generally surface rapidly) to try to capture the fascinating takeoff.

Elegant Tern Takeoff HS5013

Elegant Tern Takeoff HS5014

Capturing the moment of release from the water is somewhat tricky, as the Tern will pop out of the water,
and with a powerful thrust of the wings and push with the tail, they are out and flying. The two images above
were taken 0.22 seconds apart, and while they are both cool shots, I missed the rapid burst from the water.

Elegant Tern Takeoffs

A composite showing a takeoff sequence on top and an exceptionally cool single-shot below.
The linked image is a 1500 x 1092 watermarked version of the SXL Composite (4288 x 2975).

Below are a few images taken at the moment the Tern bursts from the water and just after takeoff.

Elegant Tern Takeoff X4721 LG

A Large (2000 x 1200) cropped version of one of the more popular Elegant Tern takeoff shots
(the full width of the SXL image is shown in the Elegant Tern Takeoffs composite shown above).

Elegant Tern Takeoff X4657 M

An Elegant Tern taken at the moment it explodes from the water after an unsuccessful dive. 1500 x 1200.

Elegant Tern Takeoff X4708 M

A waterfall spills from the tail of an Elegant Tern as it bursts from the water. 1500 x 1200.

Elegant Tern Takeoff X4687 M

A shot taken as the Elegant Tern is gaining speed and altitude after leaving the water.
Note the eye... the bird has closed its nictating membrane to remoisten it (detail below).

Elegant Tern Nictating Membrane X4687c

A 1500 pixel (1:1, 100%) detail crop from the master image which shows the nictating membrane in front of the eye.

The nictating membrane is a transparent or translucent third eyelid which closes horizontally across the eye.

Terns use their nictating membrane to wipe away salt water and remoisten the eye as well as to protect the eye while they are underwater and during their high-speed dives.

Elegant Tern Takeoff X4705

Elegant Tern Takeoff X5052

A head-on Takeoff shot. It is quite difficult getting a good shot from directly in front of a Tern, whether they are
taking off or in flight, primarily because they move so fast. The focused plane is often behind the point of interest.

Elegant Tern Takeoff HS5603 M

An Elegant Tern is shot head-on at the moment it burst from the water. An exceedingly difficult timing shot.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections: Terns and Skimmers

Head-on Shots

Elegant Tern Takeoff Head-on X5039

One of those tricky head-on shots taken soon after the Tern exploded from below the water.
You can see the foam around the exit point behind the bird, de-focused in the background.

Elegant Tern X5029

A turning Tern, shot slightly oblique just as its wings warp.

Elegant Tern X4585

An Elegant Tern shot head-on at about 40 mph.

Elegant Tern X5005

An Elegant Tern soars over the Main Canal, inspecting the water for signs of its next meal.

Elegant Tern HS5606

An Elegant Tern shot head-on over the Main Canal, its wings warped and banking for a turn.

Least Tern with Clam HS1871

A yearling Least Tern has sneaked up on and snagged a speeding Clam, and is carrying it across the Main Canal.

Least Tern with Clam HS1872

The Least Tern rises to about 200 feet, then drops the Clam onto the rocks below, cracking its shell.

The Least Tern is the smallest of the Terns at about 9 inches long and 1.5 ounces in weight.

Elegant Tern HS4820

An Elegant Tern taken nearly head-on while moving at high speed across the Main Canal.
Acquiring a fast-moving Tern in a long lens is tricky, then you have to lock focus on the head.

Elegant Tern HS4942

An Elegant Tern with a classic wing position, shot head-on over the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections: Terns and Skimmers

Flight Shots

Elegant Tern HS4757

An Elegant Tern soars over the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.

In this section, I have selected a number of closeup Flight shots, each with an interesting wing position.

Elegant Tern HS4948

A Breeding Adult Elegant Tern
(black cap with long crest feathers).

Elegant Tern HS5669

A Juvenile Elegant Tern
(note the speckled forehead).

Elegant Tern HS5686

Water streams off of an Elegant Tern immediately after takeoff,
taken with the bird scooting at high speed directly across the lens.

Elegant Tern HS5591

Elegant Tern HS5595

A Juvenile Elegant Tern wheels past the camera into a wing position that lives up to its name.

Elegant Tern HS4971

The classic Tern wing position on an Elegant Tern over the Main Canal.

Elegant Tern HS5522

Elegant Tern HS5523

The two shots above were taken less than 0.1 second apart
as an Elegant Tern rapidly pulled up, nearly stopping in mid-air.

Elegant Tern HS5488

An Elegant Tern soaring over the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica..

Elegant Tern HS5643

Juvenile Elegant Tern

Elegant Tern HS5017

Breeding Adult Elegant Tern

Elegant Tern HS4888

An Elegant Tern over the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica Wildlife Refuge.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections: Terns and Skimmers

Aerial Acrobatics

Elegant Tern Twist HS4901

An Elegant Tern shaking off water after a takeoff. Shots like these are exceedingly difficult to capture.
The bird typically performs its antics for less than a second, and even if you are already focused on the bird,
you have to react quickly to get the shot (often you see it happen on another bird out of the corner of your eye).

Elegant Tern Twist HS4909

This was an unusual situation, where I caught two clean, interesting close shots in less than one second.

Elegant Tern Twist HS4919

Elegant Tern Twist HS4920

The two shots above were taken at a greater distance, just over 0.1 second apart.

Elegant Tern Shakeoff HS4897

Most often, you get one good shot from a sequence because you
had to quickly acquire the bird when you saw its “telegraph” move.

Elegant Tern Shakeoff X5013

Note the tail twist, counteracting the head move to maintain balance.

Elegant Tern Wiggle HS5504

Elegant Tern Wiggle HS5577

Two examples of the “post-twist wiggle” where the Tern wiggles from the wings to the tail.

Elegant Tern Exorcist Twist HS5444

The “Exorcist Twist”, where the Tern rotates its head 180 degrees.

This is an advanced move requiring a post-graduate degree.

Elegant Tern Twist HS5648 M

This is a variation on the “Exorcist Twist”, but the bird has not yet mastered the move.
Diagonally-opposed wings counterbalance the twist, but a true master keeps them level.

Forster’s Tern HS1230

A Forster’s Tern (black-tipped beak) soaring over the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica Wildlife Refuge.

Tern Blastoff HS2163

A frantic blastoff at sunset, with thousands of Terns taking off at once.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)

Birds Collections: Terns and Skimmers

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