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Hydroprogne caspia
This is a habit of most, if not all, Terns, the only difference is the height they do it from and maybe the depth of water. Sandwich Terns dive into the surf close to the shore from a considerable height and frequently emerge with a catch. Little Terns hover, rather like a miniature kestrel, sometimes quite high also, then dive for their catch. They do this in ponds and over the sea. Whiskered Terns are, in my opinion, one of the most interesting, they fly low and fast along rivers pulling up and then diving for the catch, but the best bit is after, they fly up very high, deliberately drop it and then dive after it and catch it again in mid-air!
These birds dive bomb fish quite often n there very good at it from what I've seen, has anyone else observed this?
In our area Caspians are already arriving and in one of the favorited nesting sites, Brooks Island's strip.
I think Jellis is right. The bill and head seem proportionately large for a Common Tern. Caspians are in their alternate plumage right now, so they have the complete dark crown already.
In addition, Caspian should arrive earlier than Common. Caspian show up late March-early April, whereas Common show up more mid-April to May.
Jellis, a Caspian has a brighter red bill but more importantl, a white cap on the head, with darkish mottling in winter, this one is all black. At this time of year it is virtually impossible to differentiate between Common Tern and Arctic Tern. Be wary of using the black tip on the bill as a differentiator at this time of year also as immature Arctics will be changing from black to red bill. Because of this in parts of Europe mixed flocks are often referred to as Commic Terns!
It could also be a Caspian Tern. Both have orange bills but the Common has a black tip.
Do you have any other shots of this guy? It is a tern of some sort, but I would need to see a side view and the feet color