A Common But Beautiful Thing!
I often will dump my photos into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.4 to store and fix up my catalog. However, for well over a year I should have been using the upgraded Lightroom 3. Since I was using a Nikon D200 at the time of the above photo, the old version was good for my purposes, so I was lazy about it. I continued to use the vintage Lightroom 1.4, naturally. Furthermore, in April at the Galveston Featherfest, Sharlie Douglass, a Nikon camera representative allowed me to loan a Nikon D3s and a 200-400 VR F4-G ED AF-S Nikkor lens. Probably the best set-up out there at the time, for birding. I took it out and shot close to a thousand photos of our wonderful gulf coast birds. Just filling up card after card with a grin on my face!
Of course, I get home and realize that I can't download the photos because I need the upgrade to Adobe Lightroom 3. Well, I waited until a week ago to finally get it and so my portfolio was opened to a thousand new photos like the one above and while I was looking this one grabbed my attention. This is a full-blown, breeding Forster's Tern with a bunch of Willets in the background and it made me think of how much I take certain birds for granted. Most certainly, one of those birds I am speaking of is in fact, the Forster's Tern. This is a relatively common tern breeding at sporadic sites all over the northern tier of the United States. Their controlled flight allows their long tail streamers to flow in unison while in breeding plumage. They appear ghostly white below, but somehow don't garner the attention of a Common or Black Tern, for example.
Of course, I get home and realize that I can't download the photos because I need the upgrade to Adobe Lightroom 3. Well, I waited until a week ago to finally get it and so my portfolio was opened to a thousand new photos like the one above and while I was looking this one grabbed my attention. This is a full-blown, breeding Forster's Tern with a bunch of Willets in the background and it made me think of how much I take certain birds for granted. Most certainly, one of those birds I am speaking of is in fact, the Forster's Tern. This is a relatively common tern breeding at sporadic sites all over the northern tier of the United States. Their controlled flight allows their long tail streamers to flow in unison while in breeding plumage. They appear ghostly white below, but somehow don't garner the attention of a Common or Black Tern, for example.
I mean, seriously?? I am proud to have such a species breeding close to me. They molt into their full black cap in the summer with a black-tipped, bright orange bill. A lot of us see them on migration heading south and since they are the first medium-sized tern to molt in the fall, they don't look this brilliant. I just wanted to share these photos with you all.
I urge everyone to get to a breeding location for these beauts if nearby and snap some photos next spring if you can. I love stumbling upon lost photos like this one. It is why I make it a regular occurrence to dabble into my portfolio to see what is overlooked. Good birding everyone!
I urge everyone to get to a breeding location for these beauts if nearby and snap some photos next spring if you can. I love stumbling upon lost photos like this one. It is why I make it a regular occurrence to dabble into my portfolio to see what is overlooked. Good birding everyone!
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