Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Royal Terns

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

I know it is really hard to believe but, I still have birds photos from my Florida April vacation. So my featured bird for Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes is the Royal Tern. They were seen at the Fort De Soto park.


The Royal Tern is a seabird. This Tern has a red-orange bill and a black cap at the top of its head during the breeding season. Almost all Terns species are black and white, mostly more white than black.


The Royal Tern is only found along the coastlines and only found where there is salt water. They dive into the water and catch their prey by piercing it with their bills.



The Royal Tern is a large tern, second only to the Caspian Tern. There are at least 17 types of Terns seen in North America. The Terns are known for their great distances travelled during migration.



The Terns are some of my favorite birds to see at the coast. Some of the Terns I am familiar with are the Royal Tern, Caspian Tern, Common Tern, Least Tern and the Forster's Tern. I am hoping to add the Black Tern to my life list too. Do you love the Tern's too?

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.

Thanks for stopping by and for leaving your nice comments. I always appreciate your visits.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!


55 comments:

Joop Zand said...

These birds are really nice Eileen..... you have them very good photographed.

Greetings, Joop

Les fous du cap said...

Beautiful pictures ;-)
Céline & Philippe

TexWisGirl said...

love these guys. goofy, yet so astute looking at times. :)

Optimistic Existentialist said...

When we went to Florida last month my favorite part was watching the gulls and terns and sandpipers :)

Unknown said...

They are handsome!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

HappyK said...

It looks like the birds are standing in the wind to me. Was it windy or is just that they way they look.

Giga said...

Bardzo ładne ptaki i sliczne zdjęcia im zrobiłaś. Pozdrawiam.
Very nice photos of birds and humming them did. Yours.

Rohrerbot said...

Yes I do love terns! I am smiling because I've been searching for those darn Black Terns as well. There seem to be 5 of them flying around here and there in the Tucson area and everytime I go to find them, they are not there! They would be a lifer for me as well. Wonderful shots!

Anonymous said...

Such gorgeous photos, Eileen. Must have been a wonderful trip.

Brian King said...

Excellent shots! Terns are very royal looking birds!

Lynne said...

I like the standing in a row . . . looking in the same direction, (basically) photo . . . You're so good!

Anonymous said...

Nice catch! Looks like you caught them all pairing up.

Montanagirl said...

Great shots of the Terns! Yes, I really enjoy seeing them. We've had a couple different species show up around here. I've seen them at Fort Peck and at Bowdoin NWR.

Carver said...

The royal terns are beauties. These are all great shots but my favorite is the one where they are standing in a line.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Fabulous photos. We have terns here too - several different kinds - and I love to hear them calling as they fly over our house in the evening. They nest in an abandoned pulp mill and the demolition of it has to be stopped each spring until the chicks are raised.

Stephanie said...

Nice looking birds!

Wally Jones said...

What a really nice series of images of one of my favorite birds on one of my favorite beaches!

Thank you for sharing your photographs!

Wally - A Floridian

Andrea said...

Hi Eileen, i wonder if you intentionally cut the composition of the last one to include just one which is different. I smiled at it as if the commons are discriminating that grey one! LOL.

lisa lewicki hermanson said...

Fabulous birds ! A sharp black stroke and then white, how beautiful.

Kusum said...

Beautiful bird pictures!

betty-NZ said...

*waves hand wildly in air* I love terns too, but we don't see this kind here. They are just gorgeous birds!

Sue said...

A couple of those Terns certainly are having a bad hair day-LOL!

Irma said...

Excellent shots,Eileen!
I love them all perfectly photographed.
Greetings Irma

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful, that's special.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Hi Eileen Yes I like Terns and these shots are great. They are so white and I have never seen them before.

Jocee said...

Great pictures, very natural and real. You underestimate your photography skills :)

aspiritofsimplicity said...

I love to see them on the waters here. They are so pretty. I really like your picture of the terns on the wall.

MastHoliday said...

Beautiful looking your birds!
such great captures..

Zizi Santos said...

Que lindos
parecem conversar um com o outro!
que presente da natureza
Zizi
http://zizisantos.blogspot.com.br/

Debbie said...

love those carrot noses!!

great captures!!

Maude Lynn said...

They are really pretty!

DIMI said...

Hallo Eileen!!!
These sea birds are so preety!!!
Exellent shots!!!Beautiful pictures!!
I really enjoyed seeing them!!!
Have a lovely week!!Hugs!!
Dimi...

Our Neck of the Woods said...

What neat birds! All your shots are fantastic, especially the last one with them all lined up. So cute :) Hope you had a nice holiday weekend!

NatureFootstep said...

great shots of this cool tern. Love to see them.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I do love the terns in Florida (and Ft DeSoto is a wonderful place for them).

Gordon said...

Great photos of these birds and a very informative write up as well! Thank you.

Rambling Woods said...

They are lucky with that view and I love what looks like a special haircut on their heads.. I see me leaving strange comments all over Nature Notes with this flu bug I have.. maybe I should have waited..but it does look like hair.. Michelle

SandyCarlson said...

Stunning photos. Thanks for introducing me to these birds.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

The Royal Tern is a very handsome bird, and very photogenic, Eileen!

Ercotravels said...

Is it me or do all of these birds have a slightly different hairdo :P
Regards
Our new post about Last Home of the Indian Khur Species

Irene said...

Very neat birds, Eileen! And your shots are great .... love them all!

Irene :)

Crafty Green Poet said...

Beautiful photos, we don't get these terns but we regularly get two other species and there are some rarer ones that turn up too.

Yesterday i saw a group of sandwich terns chasing each other above the edge of the sea, making a huge amount of noise for such elegant looking birds.

Unknown said...

Wonderful shots of these beautiful birds!

orchid0324 said...

Dearest Eileen,
Oh My, what unique and Royal looking birds they are♡♡♡ Haha, I've never heard of Terns (I'm surprised there are many kinds) and I learned that they are the seagull family.
Loved and Enjoyed your beautiful pictures of them, my friend♪♪♪
Sending you lots of love and hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*

Amazing wonders in my life said...

nice one!

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I love their little black toupees- great shots Eileen!

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Those Terns are exceptional Eileen...What grand shares, and not to worry about just sharing April images, my last post had them from who knows when...sigh ;)

Wayne said...

They have such great color contrasts. Their beak looks very sleek and streamlined.

Anonymous said...

Hi Eileen, I had wondered what these bird were. Thanks for sharing and informing. I especially enjoy reading your blog. I had seen these birds at the beach near Daytona a few weeks ago. Have a really good Friday tomorrow!

Stewart M said...

Terns are great birds - we get about 4 regular species in my part of Australia - Caspians included.

I really like them!

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

Anonymous said...

They are such awesome looking birds. Have not seen them before so this is a treat!

CabinGirl said...

Great photos, Eileen! I love how they're all lined up in the last one.

Caroline Gill said...

What a striking Tern, Eileen! I have only seen the red-billed variety (Common Tern), which we see in Scotland and have seen once here in the east of England.

Maria said...

I like the terns with the splashing waves!

Louisette said...

Great shot, love much
Greeting from Belgium and my two miss golden retriever: Cerise , zitablue
http://retrieverhond.eigenstart.nl

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