I did some birding on the Milwaukee lakefront early this morning and some of the places hit were the Magic Hedge, Bradford and McKinley Beaches, Veterans and Lakeshore State Park, for the most part it was very slow. Yellow-rumped Warblers were at most locations. The highlight was a Forster’s Tern, juvenile at Bradford Beach on my 3rd stop there this morning. This little bird among many larger Ring-billed Gulls was present at waters edge. Birds change on the beach often with many walkers of all sorts. It moved around the beach and out of sight for periods of time too. It dived times for food and did catch some fish and often was harassed by Ring-billed Gulls on and off the beach. I saw many chases far out over the water. Sometimes the Ring-billed Gulls let it rest too. It was overcast with mild temps, light winds from the east while I was there this morning. Images were taken on September 28, 2015.
Forster’s Tern
Binomial name: Sterna forsteri
Category: Gulls Tern, and Skimmers
Size: 13” long, 31” wing span
Weight: 6.0 oz
Ring-billed Gull harassing
Ring-billed Gull harassing
Ring-billed Gull harassing
Size comparison image with Ring-billed Gull left, Forster’s Tern right
Ring-billed Gull chasing the Forster’s Tern with fish
Forster’s Tern with fish
Ring-billed Gull chasing the Forster’s Tern
Forster’s Tern making a dive for a fish
Forster’s Tern making a dive for a fish
A Ring-billed Gull right there after the Forster’s Tern tries for a fish
Before the dive for a fish
“The Adventures of a Forster’s Tern.” Very nice, Jim!
Great pics. Thanks for posting. Especially liked the harassment photos.
Lovely!
Very interesting to see it with the Ring-bills for a comparison. I’ve only ever seen the Forster’s at Horicon Marsh before. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us.