Forster's Tern Feeding young

[Binu John]

Canon 1D Mark III
Canon 400mm f/5.6
1/3200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 800

Clonned out some OOF birds from the background during PP.

I really appreciate all the C&C!

[Stu Bowie]

Great behaviour here, and well timed to capture the 'hand over' of the fish. Surely that fish was too large for the youngster. I like the ruffled feathers of the youngster, together with the forward wing position of the adult.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Beautiful birds, nicely shown. Wonderful behavior image.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Excellent behaviour you got here, and you also got two nice head angles! I imagine this was an anticipated event and that you were pre-focussed on the youngster? Good job on the processing as there is no trace of other birds being there. The only thing that could have made this better is for the fish to be pointed our way instead...but terns don't care about that do they!

[Loi Nguyen]

I think this is beautiful, great behavior, very nice light and BG. The only thing I would wish for is a little bit more room top and right mif you have it. TFS. Loi

[Binu John]

Thanks Stuart! Yes, the fish was big for that fledgling, but he gulped it with in a matter of seconds!

Great behaviour here, and well timed to capture the 'hand over' of the fish. Surely that fish was too large for the youngster. I like the ruffled feathers of the youngster, together with the forward wing position of the adult.

[Binu John]

Thanks Joseph!

Beautiful birds, nicely shown. Wonderful behavior image.

Thanks Daniel! Yes, we (a group of 10+ bird photographers) were anticipating some feeding action just before the sunset. IMO A 300mm lens is the right lens for that location and there is no margin for errors with a 400mm lens to get an eye-level shot. The parent first approached from the right and I pre-focused on the youngster with the left-bottom sensor next to the center one selected. But the first attempt to pass the fish failed as it was windy. So she moved to the left and made another attempt from the left as I moved the selection to right-bottom sensor next to the center one. Surprisingly, that too failed! When she circled one more time to approach from the right again, I almost gave up.... but was lucky enough to switch the selection back to the left-bottom sensor and capture this moment. I can't explain how excited I was after seeing this image on the LCD!

Excellent behaviour you got here, and you also got two nice head angles! I imagine this was an anticipated event and that you were pre-focussed on the youngster? Good job on the processing as there is no trace of other birds being there. The only thing that could have made this better is for the fish to be pointed our way instead...but terns don't care about that do they!

Thanks Loi! I really appreciate your input. I'll try to process it again with more room on top and right. This is about 80 - 90% of the frame.

I think this is beautiful, great behavior, very nice light and BG. The only thing I would wish for is a little bit more room top and right mif you have it. TFS. Loi

[Marina Scarr]

This is truly a special image and not an easy behavior to capture. What really elevates this image besides the obvious, is the light and all the elements of their habitat included. Wonderful story and capture here!

[Binu John]

Thank you, Marina! Glad to know you liked it.

This is truly a special image and not an easy behavior to capture. What really elevates this image besides the obvious, is the light and all the elements of their habitat included. Wonderful story and capture here!

[David Salem]

Great capture and I love the pose on both birds. The chick looks nice with the raised feathers as it receives the fish. The light looks good too but wish the parents head wasnt shaded.
Some PP work could fix that easily. Very nice frame.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Only if the adult's eye was not shaded. But, an exceptional image nevertheless! Congrats!

[Thinus Schoeman]

Fantastic capture Binu, well done! Very good exposure, and the important areas of both birds are sharp with good detail. The adult has a very nice wing position, which compliments the image. I would also have liked a bit more room on top and on the right. Congratulations!

[Amol Khedgikar]

Beautiful behavior shot Binu

[Lorant Voros]

Super behavior image. It is a full story in a single frame. Well done.

[Frank Schauf]

Great scene and setting you have here.

[Binu John]

Thanks everyone!

[arash_hazeghi]

lovely pose and interaction in sweet light.

[Binu John]

Thanks Arash!

lovely pose and interaction in sweet light.