Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

16th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Common Tern After the Dive

This shot was taken in the late afternoon off the ocean side of Nauset Spit on Cape Cod at low tide. Thousands of juvenile menhaden were stacked up against the beach in huge masses, pushed there by schooling mackeral, and in the shallow water over the sandbars they made easy pickings for diving terns.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2018
Date Uploaded: 10.2018
Photo Location: Orleans, Massachusetts, United States of America
Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Copyright: © Peter Pasterczyk