A Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri) preparing to dive for a meal.
Said tern after catching said meal.
Said tern realizing a ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) wants to take said meal.
Said gull chasing said tern.
And chasing.
And chasing.
Until a second tern sees said meal.
And chases.
And chases.
Until said gull outmaneuvers said second tern and gets back into said chase.
And chases.
And chases.
Until said tern makes good its escape by outmaneuvering said gull.
At which point said tern vanishes into the distance to enjoy said meal.
I am glad I don’t have to run off with my tasty ham sandwich, worrying some dude might snatch it from me.
Good point, Janet! If I had to fight off every invader when it came to eating my meal, I’d be in jail by now for assault, battery, murder, or any number of other crimes. Don’t get between me and my food…
What, no fish ID?! 😉
Hysterical, Warren! You’ve obviously figured out my obsessive and/or compulsive and/or desirous need to identify everything I see.
In this case, the ID is simple: little fish. The taxonomic name for said little fish still eludes me, but I’m working on it.
Yayyyyyyh! The little guy won one. Great sequence.
Thanks, Mom! I’m with you: I was totally cheering for the tern to win the day. And it did. Talk about a huge smile on my face…
LOL!
Were they all doing laps in front of you or what? I’m marvelling at how you managed to get that whole series at the angles you did!
You’re close to the mark, TGIQ. The whole scene unfolded at the south end of the lake, though they did move further away across the water as the chase unfolded. I ran along the shore a few times when they edged northward, but mostly they stayed in the same general area for the minute or so that the chase lasted. They were very accommodating!
A really great series of photos! Amazing the kind of stories that can be taken with a few images.
Thank you, Nate! And quite right. This event was over with in about a minute, and I was pretty darn lucky to have the birds stay in the same general area. But I let the shutter fly and captured a story that pretty much told itself.
Awesome shots of the Tern. Well done!
Thank you, Eileen! I’m glad you like them.
I always root for the terns!
I adore gulls with their excessive personalities and their fun antics, but I was definitely hooping the tern would win the day, Laura. It was so exciting to watch this chase–which lasted only about a minute, but what a minute it was!