Post #33 - Elegant tern showcase!

It has taken me a bit of time to get into a birding routine here in Los Angeles. I finally feel as though I have done this, so I hope that content will be a bit more forthcoming in upcoming weeks and months.

This weekend, I had not one but two very productive trips to Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach. My visits this weekend were squarely focused on photographing Elegant terns. This species seems to have been expanding northward fro Mexico in recent years; Thousands of the birds have nested at Bolsa in recent years. Most of them have cleared out with fall fast approaching, but there are still a healthy number of them floating around. I spent the entirety of both visits watching them fish at a particular corner of one of the impoundments. The tide was coming in, and with it came loads of fish. The birds were actively, and I set up photographic shop to document as much of the spectacle as I could. I think the pictures will give you a good idea of what I witnessed.

The birds would fly around, looking for fish below them.

Canon 400mm f/5.6 on EOS 1D Mark IV

1/3200 at f/8, ISO 800, Manual

Canon 400mm f/5.6 on EOS 1D Mark IV

1/3200 at f/8, ISO 800, Manual

When a fish was spotted birds would dive at breakneck speed into the water in pursuit of them. This is a shot of several birds all going after fish at the same time.

Canon 400mm f/5.6 on EOS 1D Mark IV

1/3200 at f/8, ISO 800, Manual

If unsuccessful, the birds would, in mid-air, shake themselves off and repeat the process.

Canon 400mm f/5.6 on EOS 1D Mark IV

1/3200 at f/8, ISO 800, Manual

Canon 400mm f/5.6 on EOS 7D2

1/4000 at f/8, ISO 800, Manual

Those that were successful had sushi to-go!

Canon 400mm f/5.6 on EOS 7D2

1/4000 at f/8, ISO 800, Manual

Canon 400mm f/5.6 on EOS 7D2

1/4000 at f/8, ISO 800, Manual

Sometimes, there is the need to reposition the fish after its caught. The tern will flip the fish up in the air and then catch it again, presumable with a better grip on it. Here's a shot of exactly this happening.

Canon 400mm f/5.6 on EOS 1D Mark IV

1/3200 at f/7.1, ISO 1000, Manual

Anyway, I hope this series show you at least a bit of the amazing action I saw this weekend!