Least Tern - Plumb Island spit, Sandy Hook National Seashore, Gateway National Park, New Jersey
I had to sneak up on this guy on my hands and knees while keeping a small bush between us, but the precautions were rewarded in this case, and after a number of ensurance shots I got this low angle capture by spreading the tripod legs out full, and burying the butt end of the 12 inch column in the sand.
Significant efforts are not always rewarded, and I reckon my prospective subject takes flight more than half the time before I get to where I'd like to be, but as they say in the New Jersey Lottery commercials, "You gotta be in it to win it" *
(i.e. if you're not willing to have a go at it, it's never gonna happen, and 50% starts to look like a big number).
In this capture the tern is actually yawning,
so I was apparently the least of its worries.
* Or as a famous basketball player once said when being criticized about his shot stats, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!"
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