Common Terns

This blog entry has been modified since I originally posted it. Initially, I mistook these birds for arctic terns. They are in fact common terns, which are very similar; however, the arctic tern does not have so much black on its beak. This pair were photographed at the Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park. I watched for about an hour or so, during which time the male kept disappearing for long periods and then returning with fish for the female. This is typical behaviour for the species prior to nesting and then mating.