Tuesday, 24 August 2021

Wild Bird Wednesday 474 - Whiskered Tern

Well, this has not been a great week.  We have now had over 200 days of lockdowns as a result of COVID, in 6 separate blocks.  Curfews, travel limitations and restrictions on the number of hours you can spend exercising - two in my case.  I'm sure you are fed up with these rather gloomy starts to WBW - and so am I.  

In the gap between the last two lockdowns I managed a trip to Werribee - which is always a good thing, but its even better in summer!  I did get rather excited when I first saw this tern - but on closer examination it turned out to be a Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) in non-breeding plumage. These pictures are a bit of a symphony in grey!  But I did like the challenge of getting even half decent pictures of this bird in less than ideal conditions.











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14 comments:

  1. Great shots. I watched Common Terns ward off a circling Bald Eagle recently. Those are fearless little birds. I love to see this species!

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  2. Hari OM
    they are such elegant birds, too...

    Meanwhile, cases are on the rise again up here... stay safe! YAM xx

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  3. Beautiful photos. We have them too in the Netherlands but I never saw one. Have a nice week.

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  4. We don't have those Tern here so lovely to see your photos. here is N I they are lifting most restriction, yet the situation is getting worse with deaths every day and between 1000 and 2000 new cases daily!! I just do not know who this all is going to end. Thanks for hosting, stay safe and have a gret week ahead.

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  5. You did a nice job with these atmospheric shots. Wishing you well from Honolulu my friend!

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  6. You did very well under these conditions and obtained several different views. Stay safe!

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  7. great shots of the whiskered tern. :)

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  8. Stewart, the shots of this bird are unbelievable! Scrolling though them I cannot help but feel jealous...jp

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  9. Ah, Werribee, what fond memories I have of that Shangri-la. I still can visualize the expression on the face of the owner of the Air bnb we stayed at when we told him that we had come all the way from Canada to go to Werribee. He thought we were pulling his leg. Little did he know the allure of a good sewage treatment plant,

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  10. A few Whiskered terns made a visit to the lake where I frequent. Their flight pattern and speed makes tracking very difficult. These are great shot!

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  11. Beautiful in-flight photos!

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  12. Great shots…I could not find any whiskers so why the name? Or does that come with breeding plumage? I have no birdies to share this week. Sorry about your lock down. It’s better than what we are doing here in the USA. Just letting it run wild…and it is! Stay safe.

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  13. Lovely images! I'm glad you got out when you had the chance. Stay safe.

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  14. It's always a pleasure to see your photos!

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