{"id":113219,"date":"2023-05-04T04:33:18","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T10:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=113219"},"modified":"2023-05-04T04:42:52","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T10:42:52","slug":"spring-caspian-tern-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/04\/spring-caspian-tern-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Caspian Tern Photos Plus A Bonus Osprey Image"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of last month, I had the pleasure of taking Caspian Tern photos as these terns were flying and fishing at my local pond.<\/p>\n

\"CaspianCaspian Tern at the start of a dive \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Caspian Tern action above the pond was hot and heavy. Terns were flying in from all directions, which made it hard for me to pick an individual to track and photograph. Additionally, I am a bit rusty when it comes to using my tripod because I usually photograph from my Jeep.<\/p>\n

I guess I could have gotten frustrated, but I was having too much fun to allow any<\/em> negative thoughts into my mind. Psychologically, negativity doesn’t help anyone; it only hinders. I prefer to think positive thoughts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"CaspianCaspian Tern flying over an urban pond \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I relaxed and focused on the Caspian Terns, our largest terns in North America, about the size of Ring-billed Gulls. These birds fly almost as erratically as the gulls, which presents a challenge for capturing them in flight. I enjoy challenges and had a great time observing and photographing them as they whizzed by.<\/p>\n

\"SpringSpring Caspian Tern in flight \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

These large terns are in full breeding plumage when they migrate back into northern Utah during the spring. Their black caps and large red bills make them easy for even novice birders to identify.<\/p>\n

Caspian Terns are very vocal<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The day I photographed these terns they were quite vocal. There may be some people that find their raspy calls<\/span><\/a> annoying. I don’t. I find them to be easily recognizable by ear and I don’t need to see the bird to know they are in the area.<\/p>\n

\"NearlyNearly eye level with a flying Caspian Tern \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Watching the Caspian Terns flying by is fun. They are graceful in flight and with their large size, easy for my eyes to follow. Tracking them with my camera mounted on my tripod isn’t always so easy. My keeper rate dropped but I still came home with images that I am happy with.<\/p>\n

\"CaspianCaspian Tern chasing an Osprey \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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Part of the fun I had that day was that the Caspian Terns were bothered by a migrating Osprey that was also present at the pond. The terns repeatedly tried chasing the Osprey away. I was only able to capture a few photos of that action because it happened so quickly. I particularly liked this image that shows the tern with its bill wide open. The Osprey’s facial expression made me giggle; it was as if the Osprey was saying, “What did I do to deserve this?” and I couldn’t help but laugh.<\/p>\n

All in all, I had a terrific morning photographing the Caspian Terns, the Osprey, and other birds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Caspian Tern photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Osprey photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the end of last month, I had the pleasure of taking Caspian Tern photos as these terns were flying and fishing at my local pond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1802,466,709,26],"tags":[4004,5788,4053,1803,929,4478,7934,4052,4122,4467,3992,6784,4189,10698,1984,153,4018,165,2090,629,8018],"class_list":["post-113219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-caspian-terns","category-ospreys","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-aerial-chase","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-caspian-tern","tag-chasing","tag-dive","tag-eye-level","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-hydroprogne-caspia","tag-osprey","tag-ospreys","tag-pandion-haliaetus","tag-park","tag-pond","tag-raptors","tag-sky","tag-spring","tag-tern","tag-terns","tag-urban"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/caspian-tern-adult-flight-urban-mia-mcpherson-3874.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ts7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57402,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/04\/23\/im-on-the-look-out-for-caspian-terns\/","url_meta":{"origin":113219,"position":0},"title":"I’m On The Look Out For Caspian Terns","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The day I came home from camping in the West Desert the first bird calls I heard were from several Caspian Terns in flight overhead that were squabbling and diving at each other.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Caspian Tern on the shore at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/caspian-tern-pair-beach-mia-mcpherson-2804.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/caspian-tern-pair-beach-mia-mcpherson-2804.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) are North America's largest tern with a wingspan of 50 inches and weighing in at 1.4 pounds.","rel":"","context":"In "Caspian Terns"","block_context":{"text":"Caspian Terns","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/terns-and-skimmers\/caspian-terns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Caspian Tern in flight next to the Gulf, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/caspian-tern-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-2336.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/caspian-tern-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-2336.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/caspian-tern-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-2336.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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