Attack of the Arctic Tern, a photo from Austur-Skaftafellssysla, Asturland

Photographer's Note

The best way to view the pictures is to use the 3 links below.

Attack of the Arctic Tern

Krнuvarp - arctic tern nesting areas
“The Arctic Tern flew
19.000 km to nest and lay
Its eggs here, it took over
one and a half month. Be
considerate and give the
birds space.”

(sign at the entrance to the Jцkulsбrlуn)

The arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a migratory bird that loves the summer and with the migration from the Northern to the Southern hemisphere and back can make annually about 70,000 to 90,000 km of flying hours. The arctic tern has a large hibitat and is therefore not threatened. Moreover, the bird is very well able to defend its nest as you can see in workshop 1 where Arctic Tern is about to attack the heads of two tourist invaders.
For the main photo, I finally opted for a close-up of a breeding arctic tern, which was not distracted by my camera. Although the workshop 1 has a higher actuality value, the artistic quality of the picture of the breeding bird has been decisive for me .
In workshop 2 you can see a more modest bird that roamed this area: the Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis Insulae) The snow bunting is a songbird that lives in the arctic tundra.

■ Main picture: ◄ Nesting Arctic Tern ►
■ Workshop 1: ◄ Attack of a Arctic Tern ►
■ Workshop 2: ◄ Snow Bunting ►

Fis2, holmertz, ikeharel, sacimar, pajaran, pierrefonds, ChrisJ, PaulVDV, worldcitizen has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (171991) 2018-10-29 8:20

Witaj Rob!
What a change of subject?
Nice picture of nature.
The bird on the nest are impressive.
Excellent shot.
Good framing, colors and sharpness.
Well done.
Nice afternoon.
Krzysztof

holmertz (103660) 2018-10-29 8:27

Hello Rob,
The bird in WS2 is incredibly cute, WS1 has action, colours, people and a great view of the icy landscape. The main photo is relatively modest, but looking at the large version I see great qualities that may not be immediately easy to observe. I love the raindrops resting on all the small plants and seen on the bird's black head, and looking closely I see its black eyes watching you. Obviously it didn't yet consider you a threat, so you were wise not to step any further. All photos have you usual high technical and artistic quality.
Kind regards,
Gert

Silvio1953 (222991) 2018-10-29 8:42

Ciao Rob, great capture of lovely tern in nice pose, wonderful natural colors, fine details and splendid clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

sacimar (38173) 2018-10-29 9:20

Hello Rob,

interesting and different images from Iceland, I like the white bird you show in the main picture, you captured a beautiful scene, well done,

Best regards,

Sergio

rychem (72187) 2018-10-29 9:31

Beautiful nature shot, but I like the WS photo of "attacking tern" too, very nice series
regards Ryszard

Nicou (193814) 2018-10-29 9:33

Hello

dans ces herbage rouge et vert quelle image de cet oiseau su sol noir et blanc il se cache quel bec et vue et l'eau sur les herbes quel effet superbe.
Bravo et belle soirйe
Nciou

pajaran (117113) 2018-10-29 9:56

Dobar dan.
Lep pogled i trenutak, interesantan tekst ...
Dobar rad sa lepim fotografijama u radionici, lepo pokazano, dobar kontrast, lepe boje, lepo uhvacen trenutak.
Lepe ptice i biljke, lep trenutak u prirodi.
Zelim vam lep dan, vse najbolje u novoj nedelji koja je pocela, srecno.
Paja.

Good day.
A nice view and a moment, interesting text ...
Good work with nice photos in the workshop, beautifully shown, good contrast, nice colors, a nice caught moment.
Beautiful birds and plants, a beautiful moment in nature.
I wish you a nice day, all the best in the new week that started, good luck.

pierrefonds (115596) 2018-10-29 12:59

Hi Rob,

The bird is well placed in the frame. The point of view is showing the details of the Artic Tern. The light is giving good colors rendering. Have a nice dya.

Pierre

Tue (93504) 2018-10-29 14:22

Hallo Rob,
In de WS-foto kan gerust gesproken worden over een terrorstern, die zich kan meten met onze terroroehoe van enige jaren terug. In de hoofdfoto ziet het vogeltje met zijn zwarte kop en rode snaveltje er een stuk vrediger uit. En bovendien haarscherp.
Lars

emka (158900) 2018-10-29 23:57

Hello Rob, Nice three pictures. In the Workshop, we can see the bird attacking the tourists, a modest version of Hitchcock? But the main picture is the most beautiful. You could come quite close. Have you seen puffins?

Best regards MAlgo

CLODO (45118) 2018-10-30 0:41

Hi Rob

I have been in a tern population in Scotland during the mating season, and was aware they attack everyone who comes to close to their nest, that's wht a stick or umbrella above your head is helpfull. In the main post, we can see some drops of water on her black head and she is facing you just in case you stepped.
Cheers
CLODO

abmdsudi (95869) 2018-10-30 2:43

Hi Rob
Excellent capture of this handsome artic tern, love how he stands out so well against the grass. A fine detailed, good colours and timing too. Great nature shot of birdlife in the wild, Congrats
Best regards

ikeharel (114659) 2018-10-30 3:59

A bird I never saw before, Rob, seems as she was not afraid of human presence in close proximity.
WS #2 shows well its camouflage colors.
Nice captured inflight as in the WS #1.

My best regards,
Ike

Cricri (176) 2018-10-30 8:30

Hi Rob
Il est beau cet oiseau avec son long bec rouge et sa tкte noir, reposant sur les feuilles et fleurs humide, intйressante scиne de l'oiseau en WS, celle ci me plait plus
Bonne journйe
cricri

gervaso (28437) 2018-10-30 8:36

Hello, Rob!

I also saw a bird very similar to this one in the Pantanal, but it was very far and I couldn't take a photo of that... It looks beautiful in the photo, and the details of the vegetation that surrounds it were captured with perfect light and sharpness! Wonderful job!

carlo62 (81265) 2018-10-30 23:59

Ciao Rob
tre foto originali da questa terra inconsueta, mi fa piacere vedere qualcosa di diverso.
Sono d'accordo con Malgo, il ricordo di Hitchcock viene spontaneo.
Saluti
Carlo

ChrisJ (172436) 2018-10-31 4:34

Hello Rob,

I would edit the 'Artic' to 'Arctic' but apart from that small quibble another terrific series with perfect exposure on the bright highlights and good use of a shallow dof. I like the soft light and raindrops on the plants. Tfs!

PaulVDV (63496) 2018-10-31 12:44

Hallo Rob,
Prachtige close-ups van deze vogels en hun natuurlijke habitat.
De foto 'Attack ...' vind ik zeer interessant omdat het een deel van de parkeerplaats toont, enkele bezoekers en de omringende ijsschotsen en rotsen. Tegelijkertijd krijgen we een goed beeld over de grootte van de natuurelementen. Een beetje spijtig van de mist natuurlijk maar ja, het is wel degelijk IJsland.
Dus een trio van zeer mooie en interessante foto's.
Vele groeten, Paul

mkamionka (75171) 2018-11-01 0:12

Hi Rob,
I have experience the nastiness of arctic terns on Farne Islands in North East England. They nest there along the path which tourists take to see puffins. Some of the terns nest even directly on the wooden patio. As a result tourists are intensely attacked passing through the wooden patio. I have been there two times already and the rangers suggest to wear helmets to protect heads. I was pecked by them many times since sometimes there are like 20 terns in the same spot attacking you. It is really a feeling of a Hitchcock movie coming true.
Anyway this is a lovely series of wild life photos.
Excellent reportage,
M

worldcitizen (16232) 2018-11-02 16:33

Hello Rob,
This is an elegant portrait; it looks like the tern is posing for you. I also like the raindrops on all the plants, and on the bird, too. It's a lovely nature shot.