Royal Tern Lineup

by Judi Dressler

Title

Royal Tern Lineup

Artist

Judi Dressler

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Photograph - Photography

Description

Royal Terns facing the ocean, almost ready for take-off. These terns would sit like this on the beach, and then they'd all take off together to fly over the ocean looking for fish and diving after them. Then they'd all fly back and sit like this for a while befofre the next fishing expedition.

A sleek seabird of warm saltwater coasts, the Royal Tern lives up to its regal name with a tangerine-colored bill and ragged, ink-black crest against crisp white plumage. Royal Terns fly gracefully and slowly along coastlines, diving for small fish, which they capture with a swift strike of their daggerlike bills. They are social birds, gathering between fishing expeditions on undisturbed beaches and nesting in dense, boisterous colonies. In late summer and fall, Royal Terns lose most of their black crest and sport a white forehead.

Photo taken on Feburary 25, 2023 on the coast of Nayarit, Mexico

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Descriptive keywords and tags for this image include royal terns, terns, terns on the beach, birds on the beach, sand, beach, birds, thalasseus maximus, laridae, coast, coastal, mexico, nayarit, wildlife, wild, nature, dressler, and judi dressler.

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December 14th, 2023

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