Least Tern Chicks Have Taken to the Air

photo by Laura Scullin

Many of the Least Tern chicks can been seen by the shoreline and are busy trying out their new feathers as they learn to fly and catch their own fish dinners.

photo by Laura Scullin

photo by Laura Scullin

photo by Laura Scullin

With the heat index reaching into the 100s this week, it has been a challenge for the chicks to find shade.  They are very creative and can be seen in the vegetation, by the postings and decoys, and hiding under parents.

photo by Kathy Hannah

photo by Kathy Hannah 

photo by Kathy Hannah

photo by Kathy Hannah

photo by Kathy Hannah

photo by Kathy Hannah

One Least Tern chick was apparently not only looking for some shade but decided I needed company on the beach. This chick kept coming out of the posting and stood between my legs and under by chair by my back pack.  We shared some "special moments" before the chick finally tried out its new feathers and fluttered down to the shoreline

photo by Kathy Hannah

photo by Kathy Hannah

photo by Kathy Hannah

The Common Tern chicks are getting bigger than their parents and will be the next of our crew to take flight.

photo by Laura Scullin

photo by Marlene Eader

Meanwhile the Black Skimmer chicks are busy chasing their parents for fish and the parents are hard at work keeping them fed.

photo by Jackie and Eric White

photo by Krystyna Ochola

photo by Krystyna Ochola

photo by Jackie and Eric White

There is still a lot to see in the nesting colony. Sometimes the Black Skimmers and Common Terns engage in a bit of "turf warfare".

photo by Jackie and Eric White

And other times the Common Terns decide that the decoys make good neighbors.

photo by Krystyna Ochola

All of the chicks and their parents will find their homes a popular destination this weekend as the Fourth of July crowds head for the beach. This will be a good time for all of us to remember to "share the beach".