03 July 2014

Terns in flight – Al Jarrim Island South (Bahrain)

As we had a good number of helpers this time to the islands for ringing I was able to go off and spend a few minutes trying to photograph the terns in flight. This is difficult with a large 600mm lens as the birds are often too close and as they move at speed is very difficult to get good shots. It would be much better to have a 300mm lens here, as this would allow you a much better chance of getting good images. The terns are constantly flying out to sea to catch small fish and retuning to feed their young so there is a steady movement of birds all day long. The numbers are large as well with about 400-500 pairs of Bridled Terns, 5000-6000 pairs of Lesser Crested Terns and about five pairs of White-cheeked Terns breeding this year.
Bridled Tern
Bridled Tern
Lesser Crested Tern
Lesser Crested Tern
Lesser Crested Tern
Lesser Crested Terns
White-cheeked Tern
White-cheeked Tern