Wednesday, December 02, 2009

One Good Tern Deserves Another

Here's a few birdy pics from my trip down memory beach.

"So, how's that curling iron working out?"


Terns turning every which way.

It was chilly and windy ... a good day to tuck your beak under your feathers and conserve your hard fought, fish fueled energy reserves.



You guys preen, I'll watch this guy with the camera.


Not everybody was loafing of course. Out over some of the prettiest surfin' waves I had seen for awhile, was this busy fish hawk.
We actually called them fish hawks when I was a wee thing. I don't know when I switched to Osprey, but it was probably due to Mom and her Golden Guide to Birds.


Just down the coast, on that same day, at a very different beach (check the "sand"), I found this Sanderling dibbling for delights.

That beach can wait until tomorrow ...


10 comments:

Sayre said...

I love the little black ruff on the terns' heads. They look like little bankers on the sand.

Love the pictures.

robin andrea said...

Nice to see all those terns. I've only seen them one at a time circling and diving into the bay. Beautiful osprey shot.

SophieMae said...

Awesome osprey angle! I sometimes wonder where the names came from. Os... (bone?) prey? If avian etymology interests you at all, I found the real osprey origin here. Which led me to a pretty cool bearded vulture, AKA Lammergeier, of which I had never heard. Gotta love the WWW. 8-]

Sandcastle Momma said...

I loev to watch them when their feathers are all ruffled like that. Great osprey shot - we're seeing them less and less up here these days.

jean said...

Hey, there was absolutely no need for that nasty curling iron comment. Some of us have issues with our plumage. I'm sure that you just caught her at a bad moment. A gift of chocolate tossed at her feet would have been much more appropriate.

Caroline said...

When I saw SophieMae's comment, I thought I read "osprey angel"...maybe it is that after all. :o)

R.Powers said...

Sayre,
They should have little readers glasses on.


Robin,
Here in the winter, they pile up in huge flocks. Glad you liked the osprey!

Sophie,
Thanks for those tips! I always wonder where certain words come from.



SCM,
I wonder why? Ospreys are (seem) pretty thick around here.

Jean,
LOL! Yes, chocolate tossed in my direction always works.

Caroline,
Maybe, seems heavenly to me.

Unknown said...

It's true: the beach is always there. We have similar terns down here along the Naples coast ... lots of brown pelicans too.

Doug Taron said...

Yay Golden Guides. I grew up on the Golden Guide to Butterflies and Moths. It's still in print, and I still recommend it as the best one for beginners. My other fav was non-flowering plants. Thanks for the nice memory as well as the usual great photos.

Anonymous said...

"How's that curling iron working out?"

{snort}