The Chase

Gallery: AvianPosted December 21, 2010585 views18 comments

Royal tern-Sterna maxima
Herring Gull immature-Larus argentatus
Laughing Gull nonbreeding-Larus atricilla

The day I took this in Florida I saw the Royal Tern catch a fish just off shore, then the Laughing Gull took chase of the tern to try to steal the fish, before I knew it the immature Herring Gull joined the chase. The tern was able to get away from them both eventually.

I thought this might be a fun shot to share.

D200, handheld, standing, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 250, 70-300mm VR at 210mm, natural light. Larger version provided, 58% of original frame.

I aprreciate your thoughtful comments & critiques on my images. Thank you for looking

Comments

18 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on December 21, 2010 at 10:28 AM

Sweet capture with that huge fish in the mouth. These poor Terns don't have enough problems as is, then they are getting chased by gulls!

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on December 21, 2010 at 10:36 AM

Wow, a three-for-one, rarely does one get so lucky Mia.
Apt title, the chase is on!! :)
Very well done

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by David Thomas on December 21, 2010 at 10:53 AM

Excellent! I am always attracted to shots that are photographically good AND illustrate something special about nature -- something that may be commonplace but not often observed and even less often photographed.

Wouldn't this look good with a square crop, because of the placement of the three birds?

Dave Thomas, Leesburg, Virginia

Registered on June 21, 2010, 30 Posts, 178 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Conway on December 21, 2010 at 12:14 PM

It is a fun one! I like photos that tell a story.

Peter

Registered on June 25, 2007, 347 Posts, 3913 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on December 21, 2010 at 12:29 PM

Nice action shot. Very sharp and clean. When I was at Ding Darling I saw the Gulls trying to and robbing some of the terns and other wading birds. Nature is not always fair.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on December 21, 2010 at 1:01 PM

Most interesting behavioural image and well done getting the three species in focus and all with good wing positions.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Bacon on December 21, 2010 at 1:21 PM

Nice Mia, this is a fun shot and well done too. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on November 24, 2008, 56 Posts, 492 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on December 21, 2010 at 1:27 PM

Great behavioural shot, Mia.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on December 21, 2010 at 1:37 PM

Great action shot, Mia. It tells the whole story !
Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on December 21, 2010 at 2:25 PM

It's fun, but also a great action shot. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Luca Mussato on December 21, 2010 at 3:04 PM

Mia, nice story and good capture. I'm not sure about the composition... e.g. I'd add more room on the right an at bottom while i'll crop on the left at +/- at the end of your logo. Just an idea,
cheers, Luca.

Registered on November 14, 2006, 118 Posts, 855 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on December 21, 2010 at 3:18 PM

I feel so bad for the tern but I know its just nature. Well done to catch all three in perfect focus and with good detail for a crop and small in the frame. I really like your choice of framing.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 21, 2010 at 6:02 PM

Neat action Mia. Love that large fish half way down. I would be interested to know the energetics of the situation. It would seem the chasers are spending more energy to get the fish from the tern than it would take them to fish and catch their own. There must be some benefit to the chase.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on December 21, 2010 at 8:28 PM

Really a lot of fun here. Cool to get 3 different birds in the image-all stopped still and in the same plane.

Merry Christmas.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on December 21, 2010 at 8:55 PM

An amazing image. Getting two subjects in focus at one time is hard enough, yet here you've done it with three!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on December 21, 2010 at 9:45 PM

Very cool shot Mia

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on December 22, 2010 at 9:42 AM

This is great Mia. Three BIF - all sharp, with interesting and varying flight poses and showing great behavior. Your composition works just fine for me. Very well done.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by dan elster on December 22, 2010 at 4:59 PM

I know I'm late here, but this is really cool....especially the larger image. Great behavior shot.

Registered on September 23, 2005, 299 Posts, 2443 Comments