Common Tern

I was on a photo trip on the Cape Shore and drove out to Point Verde near Placentia. Two common terns were resting on a rock and I stopped to make a few images of them. Even though they were around 150 feet away, one of them got a little skittish. It the second image you can see that it started calling and flexing its wings. Moments later it flew away and I captured it just as it took off from the rock.

I have been watching and photographing birds for more than 39 years (I bought my first camera in late May of 1970) and have learned much about their behaviours. Terns tend to be skittish but I was surprised that a vehicle and human parked 150 feet away made one of them so nervous. Of course, being nervous of humans is probably a good thing for many birds!