A Natural Born Actor!

I love it that I was able to get a photo of a whole flock of terns in flight!  That was one of my specific goals for our second trip to South Beach.  I admit to being jealous of other people's "flocks of terns" pictures.  I usually have to struggle for hours to get a decent photo of one tern in flight.  They are fast!  And they dart around, and swoop up and down . . I can hardly track one well enough to catch it in the viewfinder, never mind focus!

It is always fun to look at photos of terns, too.  They are so graceful in real life, but when they are frozen in mid air (or mid stride), you see some pretty awkward poses!  Pete shot the following photos of a young Common Tern in under a minute, and yet each photo is dramatically different from the one before it.  You would never guess these were all pictures of a single bird unless you checked the time stamp!  I think this youngster might have enjoyed being in the limelight, too.  He certainly seemed to be hamming it up for the camera!


Here he looks like he's smiling, doesn't he? 


But holding a pose for 10 seconds is a real strain for a tern. He has to work the kinks out of his neck before he can pose again!


"Are you getting my good side?"


"How much longer do you expect me to smile, for god's sake?  I can't take the pressure!"


"This is my tough but sincere look.  The ladies can't resist this one!"


"At your service, mademoiselle!"

And with a graceful bow, he disappears from sight!