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Hovering Tern

I could have watched these Common Terns for hours, as they blitzed over the shoreline, occasionally hovering and then diving straight down to catch a fish!  I particularly love the sun filtering through this one’s feathers.

From Cornell Labs:  “A graceful, black-and-white waterbird, the Common Tern is the most widespread tern in North America. It can be seen plunging from the air into water to catch small fish along rivers, lakes, and oceans.  The Common Tern drinks mainly on the wing, gliding with its wings slightly raised and dipping its bill several times into the water.  Nests on islands, marshes, and sometimes beaches of lakes and ocean.”

Photo taken in the Bay Area, California, in May, 2017