Terns in Battle

[Joerg Rockenberger]

Or is it courtship? Photographed today at Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach, CA. Thanks for looking. JR

Canon 40D, 400F5.6, 1/1600s, F7.1, ISO-400, Manual Exposure

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

Great timing,composition and wings position,I really like this image!

[Jay Tan]

Wonderful interaction! I would think it's most likely a squabble for territory...the face off action is really good.. thanks for sharing!

[Daniel Cadieux]

This is one of those instances where having the action centered would be OK of the face-to-face position of the birds....therefore I would like to see the left side cropped to about same width as right. Wish the right tern's eye was as visible as the left. Great interaction!

[Steve Maxson]

Great action captured, John. The exposure is good and I like the color of the background. I agree about cropping from the left.

[Brutus Ostling]

As I know how hard it is to get interaction between two birds in flight, it makes it double better. Congrat.! And yes, cropping to the left wouldn't harm the photo - but nothing so important.

[Arthur Morris]

I like it a ton and it is sharp. Love the tails and the lower bird. Less than ideal head angle and wing postions on the upper bird and would like prevent it from being a contest winner. All in all, however, a very nice image as noted above.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Very good!!! I love the ACTION and sharpness! Cnogratuilations!

[Joerg Rockenberger]

Thank you all for the kind feedback and encouragement. Incidentally, the two were indeed centered in the frame but I cropped it to put them off centre. Oh well, another thing learned. Thanks! JR

[Nikolay Staykov - shotlandetsa]

wonderfull timing! The colors and exposure are excellent!