Having the most fun with Least Terns

It’s an important time of year for Least Terns, the smallest members of the Tern family. They’re nesting and raising little terns, an important part of the life cycle for this threatened coastal species.

I had an opportunity to photograph a Least Tern colony on Florida’s Gulf Coast last week, and it was an amazing experience. There were several newly hatched chicks and some a few days older that were running around the beach.

The young Terns leave their nests after just a few days but they rely on mom and dad to protect and feed them for the first 60-90 days of their life.

And the adult terns were certainly defending their young when I visited, dive bombing me as I got into position to take some photographs with my long 200-800mm lens. They settled down after they realized I was not a threat but just a birder wanting to take these pictures of their offspring to share with you.