Whiskered Tern - Cape May Hawk Watch, Cape May Lighthouse State Park, Cape May, New Jersey
No one is absolutely certain how this guy got to Cape May from China, but a popular theory is that it hitched a ride on a cargo ship, and stayed on board until the ship passed Cape May on it's way to the Philadelphia harbor.
And in some ways it does kinda look like an iPhone,
so perhaps it arrived along with a shipment of the new I-sixes.
Note: Whiskered Terns are not natives of North America and have only been observed three time on the continent (with all three of those sightings at Cape May, New Jersey). So if you haven't been to Cape May, it is indeed a special place with late October through early November being the best time to enjoy the annual bird migrations.
Tags: KH0831 CapeMayStatePark Bird NJ Cape May wildlife New Jersey New Jersey Nature
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Mated pair of Neotropic and Double-crested Cormorants - Wakodahatchee Wetlands, 13026 Jog Road, Delray Beach, Florida
A successful mated pair of Neotropic and Double-crested Cormorants with chicks. Note the size difference between the two birds!
Not a very good picture, but evidence of a successful mating of the two species.
Tags: KH0831 Florida Nature
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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!"
Tags: KH0831 SandyHook ThousandPlus 027 xplr Bird NJ 1000+ Top 1000 New Jersey New Jersey Nature
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Double Crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) in full breeding colors - Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands, 12800 Hagen Ranch Road, Boynton Beach, Florida
This guy was simply panting in the hot sun, but from this angle with his wind blown "double-crests" waving in the breeze and an open mouth, it makes him look like a bird you don't want to cross.
And to a fish less than 6 inches in length,
I'll bet they look like this all the time!!!
Tags: KH0831 Florida Bird Eukaryota Animalia Chordata Aves Suliformes Phalacrocoracidae Nannopterum auritum Nannopterum auritum Dilophalieus auritus Phalacrocorax dilophus Nesocarbo Macro ThousandPlus 1000+ Nature
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Double Crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) in full breeding colors - Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands, 12800 Hagen Ranch Road, Boynton Beach, Florida
Here he gives me another pose while continuing to keep his pants up and play it cool, though continuing to watch me out of the corner of his eye!
View the first comment if you'd like to see my closest capture of a cormorant's eye, and how the gullet is the more usual pinkish-biege during the non-breeding season.
or
Click on the following underlined link for a detailed look at a cormorants eye.
However that image was not during breeding season so it doen't have the blue Christmas lights around the eye.
Tags: KH0831 Florida Bird Eukaryota Animalia Chordata Aves Suliformes Phalacrocoracidae Nannopterum auritum Nannopterum auritum Dilophalieus auritus Phalacrocorax dilophus Nesocarbo Macro Nature
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