Common Tern Chick

[Joe Senzatimore]

The eggs are starting to hatch in the Common Tern Colony. Not the greatest of conditions as the colony is full of beach debris. Lots of clean-up done on this image , and a square crop to get rid of distractions.

800 ISO f8 at 1/1250th

[Brian Steele-Drew]

129729Hi Joe good detail and I love the egg and chick together, maybe a tighter crop?.......Cropping is a very personal thing.

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent image, Joe. I don't know if you are OK with cloning.
If you are you might want to clone out the little piece of in front of the chick.

[Marina Scarr]

I think you did well with the conditions. I would take a little off of the top and give the BG some NR. I see noise over the stick on the right and between the ones on the left. It's nice to see the chick sitting next to the egg and the sticks don't bother me. A small matter but I am seeing a halo around your chick's beak. How much of a crop is this image?

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image of chick and egg.
Love the color scheme, very nice details on little one and his innocent expression.
As far as composition is concerned ,I would go for conventional horizontal composition.
Rest is mentioned above.

Regards,
Satish.

[gail bisson]

The image really grabs the viewers attention with the egg and the chick. This could be called "What came first..."!
Love the chick and egg.
I would go for a bit off the top and some NR on the BG.
I see a bit of a halo around the chicks' beak as well.
I think a bit more TLC with PP would really elevate this image to a whole new level,
Gail

[PhilCook]

Sweet shot Joe, just needs some more off the top to make it a 4x3 frame size imo, got a lot of the cute factor happening here, waiting for a little brother to hatch to keep him company. The IQ in general is very good, light well handled, not overly fussed about the stick min front, depends on how you look at it...either a natural composition or sterile looking environment I guess.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Sweet shot and I do prefer the tighter crop. I wanted to suggest it myself before I saw the repost. I am also seeing artifacts noted

[christopher galeski]

nice image Joe,love the egg and chick combo,agree on cropping some off the top.

[Shawn Zierman]

The crop police called...you're busted... :)
Actually I like the crop choice in the OP. I think squarish crops are way under utilized in these
online avian photography forums. I enjoy the image. Cool to get the fresh chick right next to
the unhatched egg. Do you get dive bombed by the adults during this?

[Joe Senzatimore]

The crop police called...you're busted... :)
Actually I like the crop choice in the OP. I think squarish crops are way under utilized in these
online avian photography forums. I enjoy the image. Cool to get the fresh chick right next to
the unhatched egg. Do you get dive bombed by the adults during this?
Thanks Shawn. Yes we get dive bombed all the time. They have yet to hit anyone that I know of , but their poop aim is great.:2eyes2:
They only attack as I approach the colony. As soon as I settle in and get low they calm down. If they don't stop after a few minutes , I find another spot , as to not keep them away from the eggs and/or chicks for too long.This is more impotant to me then getting a photo.

[Shawn Zierman]

Thanks for the response. I usually find that common terns disapprove of my presence, and that's without being anywhere near where they nest... :) They just seem like a feisty proud species to me. I saw some (presumed biologists) out on an island where common terns nest in my neck of the woods. They were wearing hard hats and it looked like a good idea :)