Turning Up

The Common tern.*

You’ll see “courting” as these birds dive, fish and feed prospective mates. The breeding adult has a dark wedge of primary wing feathers (barely seen here) that differs from the Least tern, which also has a yellow beak, not orange.

*Ferry Slip, Fishers Island

From the Field, Field Note, Justine Kibbe, May 9, 2019