Texas City Dike, June 2018: Terns

Another bird I saw in abundance at the Texas City Dike was terns. And not just one species, but three different ones!

I didn't know exactly what type of tern this was.  I just noticed that the head plumage and bill coloring were different than others.  A little help from iNaturalist revealed it to be a Sandwich Tern.

This Royal Tern I recognized.  I did have to wait for the sun to break through the clouds and the bird to turn its head just enough to get a little catchlight on its eye.

The highlight of my visit to the dike was the time I spent watching a courting pair of Least Terns.  It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but I eventually realized the female on the beach was keeping an eye on the sky and would get excited when she spotted her beau.

She'd continue to squawk and flap her wings until he arrived ...

... at which time he would offer her a delicious fish ...

... which she always accepted.

He would then fly off to look for another morsel, and she would gobble down her gift.  Least Terns are listed a species of concern because their preferred nesting habitat -- sandy beaches -- is also prime recreation territory for people.  How cool to witness this behavior!

EDIT: It occurs to me that this may have actually been a very old fledgling and parent.  That makes a bit more sense.

As the day grew later and the shadows grew longer, the Royal Terns were eventually the only ones left.

My last shot of the day was this Royal Tern who was actually struggling to swallow its catch.  I'm not sure if the fish was putting up a fight or what, but the bird never did get it down the whole time I was shooting.

Related Links:

• Texas City Dike: Pelicans
• Texas City Dike: Miscellaneous