{"id":4752,"date":"2012-04-08T04:00:08","date_gmt":"2012-04-08T10:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4752"},"modified":"2026-02-02T09:29:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:29:54","slug":"forsters-terns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/08\/forsters-terns\/","title":{"rendered":"Forster’s Terns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NonbreedingNonbreeding Forster’s Tern – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/800, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The image above shows a nonbreeding Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri<\/em>) that I photographed at Fort De Soto County Park in Florida during the month of February a few years ago. Note the dark bill and the dark mask with the pale nape on this bird.<\/p>\n

When I moved from Florida to Utah I felt it was fortunate that some of the nonbreeding birds I used to see\u00a0in Florida during the winter I now get to see in breeding plumage on their nesting grounds in Utah.<\/p>\n

\"BreedingBreeding Forster’s Tern on nest – Nikon D200, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 320, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The photograph above was taken at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> in Utah of an adult Forster’s Tern in breeding plumage on a nest\u00a0that this bird and its mate were building. Note the black cap and how the bill is now orange with a distinct black tip.<\/p>\n

I wish I would have been able to photograph the Forster’s Terns as they raised their young but this was taken the day before the refuge closed the roads for construction that summer.<\/p>\n

It was a real pity too because this nest was not far from the gravel road of the auto tour route. Barring any unforeseen flooding this year the roads should remain open and I might just get the opportunity to photograph these graceful terns with their young.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Forster\u2019s Tern photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I moved from Florida to Utah I felt it was fortunate that some of the nonbreeding birds I used to see in Florida during the winter I now get to see in breeding plumage on their nesting grounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,25,1412,704,2000,26],"tags":[4004,4039,4030,4053,5132,2120,4094,4075,4031,4246,4354,2090,629,4095],"class_list":["post-4752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-florida","category-forsters-terns","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-beach","tag-breeding","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-coastal","tag-forsters-tern-2","tag-marsh","tag-nest","tag-nonbreeding","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-sterna-forsteri","tag-tern","tag-terns","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/forsters-tern-nest-mia-mcpherson-2961.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1eE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":138401,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/30\/i-saw-my-first-forsters-terns-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":4752,"position":0},"title":"I Saw My First Forster’s Terns At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"On my most recent trip to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, I saw, but didn\u2019t photograph, Forster\u2019s Terns flying and hunting over Sally Jones Lake.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Forster's Tern in flight over the Gulf, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/forsters-tern-flight-mia-mcpherson-3863.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/forsters-tern-flight-mia-mcpherson-3863.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I've always loved this image of a Forster's Tern in flight because the pose is wonderful and the tern looks elegant against the gray of a distant storm cloud.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An elegant Forster's Tern in flight over the Gulf of Mexico near Fort De Soto County Park,","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/forsters-tern-elegant-mia-mcpherson-3884.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/forsters-tern-elegant-mia-mcpherson-3884.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/forsters-tern-elegant-mia-mcpherson-3884.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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