Forster's Tern

We took a walk at Shoreline yesterday and saw a new bird. The place was swarming with Forster's Terns, which are quite noisy and adept divers. They apparently spend their summers along the California coast where they fly in swarms over the water and periodically plunge their entire bodies in to grab small fish. In fact, they offer fish to one another when they are courting. The Forster's Tern is named after Johann Reinhold Forster, a German naturalist who traveled with Captain Cook during one of his Pacific voyages of exploration.

Forster's Tern in flight...

and at rest