12th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Elegant Tern in Flight Chasing Dropped Fish

Many egrets, cormorants and terns were fishing at a water inlet pipe near the shoreline, and all three species were regularly catching fish, crabs and other food. Several of the terns flew a “circuit” and hovered above the pipe outlet for a few moments, often diving into the water to grab a fish. In one case, after diving in and catching a fish, a tern flew off with its catch, but then dropped it in mid-air. Here, the tern is chasing down the dropped fish to catch it again!

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 09.2014
Date Uploaded: 11.2014
Photo Location: Mountain View, California, United States of America
Camera: NIKON D4S
Copyright: © Mike Anderson