Least Tern hatching

For the last couple of weeks I have been photographing various aspects of the nesting behavior of Least Terns at the National Seashore at Ft. Pickens, FL. The nesting area is protected and it is not possible to get close to the nests. However, the combination of a 500mm lens, 1.7x tc, and large crops simulates a spotting scope and produced some interesting behavioral images. I believe this photo shows a chick emerging from the egg.

Immediately after the previous shot was taken, the adult began removing the shell from the nest. Both chicks are visible in this shot.

Soon after this shot was taken, the adult flew away with the shell and dropped it about 30 ft away from the nest.

I put together a slide show ("chick flick") of shots showing interesting behavior. Most of these would be pixelated as a large print and only a few are suitable for posting for comments. If you would like to see the slide show, go here
http://picasaweb.google.com/dlsparks/ChickFlick#
and click on Slideshow in the upper left corner.
I'm unable to get to the nesting area now because of the crews working to clean up the oil on the beach.

Thanks David
I thoroughly enjoyed your slide show.

David - incredible slideshow!

Sandy r

Great show! IMHO it is a very good set of photos. Thanks for sharing.

Those images were so wonderful and special. Thanks for sharing with us

Thanks for the show, David, a treat.

Awesome, thanks for sharing.

AWESOME capture!!!

David, Thanks for making your slide show available. There are so many wonderful images. The image quality is excellent and you captured some really interesting behavior.
Michele

Beautiful images, David and wonderful behavior. Great job. I wouldn't hesitate to post these on the Avian critique site.