ハジロクロハラアジサシとクロハラアジサシとオオアジサシの群れ
ハジロクロハラアジサシとクロハラアジサシの群れが沈砂池に飛来していました。合わせて約40羽の群れの中にハジロクロハラアジサシの成鳥夏羽が2羽が交じっていました。
沈砂池を群れでひらひらと飛び回りながら水面の獲物をついばんでいました。有刺鉄線の張り巡らせたフェンスがじゃまなのと逆光気味で条件は悪かったですが、美しい夏羽のハジロクロハラアジサシを久しぶりに見ることができました。
クロハラアジサシはほとんどが成鳥の夏羽でしたが、2羽ほど第1回夏羽も交じっていました。
オオアジサシは海上を40羽以上が飛び回っており、数羽のクロハラアジサシも交じっていました。
White-winged Tern in summer plumage.
White-winged Tern perched on a power line.
The Black-bellied Terns were skimming back and forth over the water surface, hunting for prey.
A Caspian Tern flew by against a patch of blue sky showing through a gap in the clouds.
The upperparts of the Caspian Tern are a mid-tone grey. You can also see the moult pattern quite clearly.
A Black-bellied Tern flying over the sea alongside the Caspian Terns.
A White-winged Tern dropped a bomb!!
The back of the White-winged Tern is quite dark, sooty grey.
White-winged Tern (right) and Black-bellied Tern flying in tandem. You can see the difference in back colour. And the flanks and belly of the White-winged Tern are jet black.
It's just an ordinary sedimentation pond they're flying around, but when the wire fence stays out of frame it has quite a nice feel to it.
First-summer Black-bellied Terns, a few of which were mixed in with the group.
One Black-bellied Tern looking straight at the camera.
