Monday, September 5, 2011

Shorebirds and Seabirds on Gandy beach



A little sandwich tern flying in to hang with the bigger royal terns.

Three smaller black terns with royal terns. All of these black terns were at various stages of molting.


Juvenile skimmer. This is the first time I've seen a young skimmer outside of the skimmer colony at Redington Shores beach. There were a few of them on Gandy beach.


Bye, bye.


Black tern preening.

I stopped by Gandy beach on the way home from work. It's pretty close by. The sun was going down so there wasn't much activity going on. All of the birds were getting ready for bed. Most were already sleeping and the rest were bathing or preening. There were only a few black terns on the beach even though I've heard there had been hundreds of them there recently. I'm not sure how long they'll stay. They don't live here year round.  Another quiet night so I headed home.

Check out more birds at CLICK THIS PICTURE!


Our World Tuesday Graphic
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17 comments:

  1. UnknownSeptember 5, 2011 at 3:41 PM

    Great close ups Dina!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  2. Kay L. DaviesSeptember 5, 2011 at 3:46 PM

    That preening photo is great, Dina.
    And I love the skimmers.
    The royal terns don't seem to be snobs about sharing the beach with their smaller cousins.
    Always enjoy your blog.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  3. EG CameraGirlSeptember 5, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    I think your gulls are far more interesting than the ones I see here. :)

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  4. TexWisGirlSeptember 5, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    the skimmers just intrigue me so! :)

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  5. eileeninmdSeptember 5, 2011 at 4:26 PM

    Wow, awesome shots of the Terns. So now I know where to find all the black terns. The juvie Skimmers are wonderful. Awesome shots, Dina!

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  6. TammySeptember 5, 2011 at 6:20 PM

    I love the skimmer. That is some beak he's sporting. A nice in flight shot too :)
    Thanks for sharing these on "Behind the Camera" today.

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  7. mariondejongSeptember 5, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    Beautiful shots, especially the terns and the skimmer!
    Where did you take the pictures? Thanks for sharing.
    Best regards,
    Marion de Jong
    http://leven-marion.blogspot.com/

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  8. ArijaSeptember 5, 2011 at 11:03 PM

    I had no idea you ate tern sandwiches! Absolutely beautiful shots of the various varieties of these lovely birds. I loved your post.

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  9. Esther GarviSeptember 6, 2011 at 2:16 PM

    Amazing pictures! Loved the encounter with a bird I did not even know existed!

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  10. Adam TiltSeptember 6, 2011 at 3:41 PM

    Brilliant post. Seeing that Skimmer takes me back to when we visited the Everglades and saw a flock of them by the hotel. Brilliant birds. Adam @ My Life Outside

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  11. theconstantwalkerSeptember 6, 2011 at 3:48 PM

    Lovely images...beautiful bird to see.

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  12. jooSeptember 6, 2011 at 5:17 PM

    I love them all:)

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  13. fjällripanSeptember 6, 2011 at 5:33 PM

    Beautiful photos and birds. The skimmer is amazing!

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  14. mickSeptember 6, 2011 at 7:18 PM

    Great photos. Very interesting to see the plumage changes in the Terns.

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  15. SusanSeptember 6, 2011 at 9:26 PM

    Beaut shots Dina - they're lovely looking birds too. I especially like the beaks on the Skimmer.
    (I popped over from Tammy's). Cheerio, Susan

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  16. Sallie (FullTime-Life)September 7, 2011 at 1:28 AM

    Isn't that great to have a nearby beach like that -- what a great way to unwind after work! Lucky you -- and great pictures.

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  17. PatSeptember 7, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    Nice shore shots! The Skimmer is such a pretty bird.

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