Hello all,


On Monday afternoon, I observed and filmed two Elegant Terns near Graveyard Spit.
One was an adult and the other was a juvenile. The juvenile closely associated with the adult and made what I believe were food begging calls, directed to the adult. It had more gray on body and a darker tail than illustrated in Sibley's. Bill length and color (shorter and more yellow) of the juvenile were as described in Sibley's. Coloration and other descriptive features were as described, within range, in Cornell BoNA.


Beautiful birds. I filmed a single Elegant Tern at the base of the Ocean Shores jetty four years ago. Always very special to see. Look for them in groups of Hermann's gulls and Caspian Terns. They stand out in the flock because of their smaller, slender- and elegant shape and size of body and beak. And of course those beautiful black nape feathers flapping in the wind.


Best regards,
Dan Reiff
Mercer Island