Another of my favorite birds are Terns. This handsome bird is a Royal Tern (Sterna mazima). Terns, unlike gulls, don't often search you out and make a pest of themselves. However, this day was different. He and a couple of his
buddies flew in while fishing and decided to keep me company. Like gulls, they accepted handouts readily but they would not approach as closely as the gulls.
I often find terns in large groups resting and generally hanging out. In fact, they can be found in large, dense colonies when breeding. Usually tending to a single buff, spotted egg in a sand scrape
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| A photo of a group mainly consisting of terns (Royal, Sandwich, and Forster's). Ocracoke Island, October 2010 |
on an island or a sheltered peninsula. I have painted several paintings of these birds from photos I have taken at the coast. I especially like to paint the Royal terns because of their red beak which gives a nice spot of color to an otherwise blue background.
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| Fish for Dinner...again (Royal Tern), 18 x 24, oil on linen, Ralph Grady James |
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