Observing terns you can understand why they were once called the swallows of the sea; they hover, they soar and they plunge dive. 
My title is taken from the evocative poem ‘A Pairing of Terns‘ by Mark O’Connor, an Australian environmental poet. He captures beautifully the beauty of terns in flight. Something I’d struggle to describe well in words and until recently would have said the same about photography. They have an incredibly quick flight so not easiest bird to photograph in flight, but I had a stroke of good fortune one day when a Little Tern decide to fish right in front of us. Wonderful to watch, and great fun to try and photograph!
The Algarve is one of the best places to observe the Little Tern (Andorinha-do-mar-anã) in Portugal. They are a summer visitor, and are tiny compared to other sea terns in Europe and the Americas. You can get a sense of their small size (max 25cm in length) in the first two photographs in the gallery below.
Not only are small fish the Little Tern’s diet they are an important part of courtship. Having said that the female didn’t seem that interested in the fish the male was offering when we were lucky enough to observe a courtship in 2014.
Little Terns are not the only terns we have spotted. Initially we thought the other terns were Common Terns. However the legs look black, the edges of the wing on the underside are definitely black and the tail feathers don’t seem to have the lovely long fork shape that the Common Terns have. So I’ve decided it must be the largest of the terns Garajau-grande, what we call the Caspian Tern. Both the Common and the Caspian Tern are migratory birds but as my photographs demonstrate Caspian Terns may spend winters in the Algarve.
I do hope you have a moment to read Mark’s poetry but just in case you are short of time here’s an alternative. Not as evocative but it will probably make you smile!
Said the mother Tern to her baby Tern
“Would you like a brother?”
Said the baby Tern to the mother Tern
“Yes. One good Tern deserves another.”
Spike Milligan
Love your photo of the seagull 🙂
Looking the right way at the right time and with a camera!
I love seagulls 🙂 All birds actually even crows and pigeons when they are not making mess on my balcony 😀
You did really well at photographing the tern, Becky.I usually try to capture birds on the water or on land – they seem easier somehow!
Thanks Tom. I’ve only recently started to try and photograph them in the air, there’s an awful lot of luck involved!
One good tern? 🙂 Several, I think! I love the little ones. Well done and happy Sunday! 🙂 Sun’s just arrived after a miserable start.
Hee hee!
A very happy Sunday to you too . . . odd day down here, warm but grey and windy with passing sprinkles of rain. Hope you get out for a short stroll before the day is over x
A difficult subject, very well captured. You did well.
Thank you so much . . . . was so excited when I got back to the apartment and was able to upload the photographs and see exactly what I had captured and what I had missed!