The Common Tern

To me this Common Tern is not so common. These birds are world class travelers and can be found from Europe to South America. Their close relative the Arctic Tern is the farthest traveled migrating animal in the world, traveling over 3 million miles in their 30 year lifespan. I took these photos of a small flock off if the coast at Cape May. I went on a tour sponsored by Birding by boat on the Osprey. Here is the website if your ever in Cape May NJ. Birding by boat. On my your we moored the boat against a nesting site of the Common Terns. We did not bother them and caused no harm buyer were concerned for them. The was bad weather coming and the tides was going to be real high that evening which would wash away all these birds nests. The reason for these Tern nesting so close to the edge ofthewater was because the Laughing Gulls were also nesting in the same piece of land and they chased the Terns off. They nested where they can. When we pulled up they were clearly agitated buy calmed down quickly once realizing we were not a threat to them. Nature can beautiful and cruel at the same time. Poor eggs wish I could build a barge for them to nest in.

Northern Waterthrush

The Northern Waterthrush like it's close relative the Louisiana Waterthrush are actually warblers. One of the main differences besides the size is the selected hunting territories. Northern Waterthrushes prefer standing water at the edges of forest such as ponds and lakes while the Louisiana Waterthrush prefers the faster moving water of brooks and streams. Both similar in characteristic put on a dance of the tail wag. They constantly gyrate their tails up and down. Scientist state that this is either to scare there prey into movement or for confusing the prey. They primarily eat insects, grubs, worms and I even saw one with a bee in it's beak. I have noticed that like a chipmunk they keep stuffing their beaks with food but do not actually eat it right away. Not sure if why they do this. Both of these are not too shy and are easy to see but because they move constantly they can be difficult photograph. They range all throught the Northern US, Canada, and even Alaska during mating season and usually chill out in southern US and south America in the winter. 

Louisiana Waterthrush

This little guy is very unique in it behavior. Went on a small hike with my fiance to a local wildlife education center in the Poconos PA called Kettle Creek. It started off bad without a single bird sited. We circled back to this mucky pond that had a downed tree. We noticed this Louisiana Waterthrush putting on a show for us. He had a bumblebee in his mouth. It was hard to land any decent shots of him due to the fact that he does not stop moving. One unique thing with this bird. They shake their rump constantly bobbing it up and down. It was quite the show. I am curious why they do this so off to research for me. If you ever come across one of these, they are by brooks and ponds and streams. They are kind of sparrow size and will always be spotted low on the ground near water. Good luck in your searches.

Gray Catbird.

Gray Catbird

    This common North and Central American bird is called a Gray/Grey Catbird. It gets its name from the The various cat like calls that is makes. Soundbyte link. Gray Catbird Call . This bird is easy to identify and not very shy. It is primarily gray in color with a black or dark grey cap on its head. If you look close enough you will see a red or cinnamon color under it's tail feathers. Many people confuse this bird with the Mockingbird. This a pleasant bird that seems to always be singing and meowing. They like the forest edge and will eat a variety of food from worms, bugs, seeds, and recently discovered at my feeders, they love oranges...who knew.