Birds of the Massachusetts Coast

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"Evening Morsel I" -- Against a driftwood tableau at Allens Pond in August 2007, a Least Tern chick stands and spreads his wings, seeing his parent approaching with a small sand lance. He deftly takes it, and in the last image he has just gulped it down. Least terns feed almost exclusively on such very small fish, which they frequently offer to their mate (as noted in another caption). In contrast to piping plovers, young tern chicks cannot feed themselves.
Copyright © 2009 John Van de Graaff

"Evening Morsel I" -- Against a driftwood tableau at Allens Pond in August 2007, a Least Tern chick stands and spreads his wings, seeing his parent approaching with a small sand lance. He deftly takes it, and in the last image he has just gulped it down. Least terns feed almost exclusively on such very small fish, which they frequently offer to their mate (as noted in another caption). In contrast to piping plovers, young tern chicks cannot feed themselves.

Bird Photographs by John Van de Graaff