PHOTOGRAPHY by denise ippolito

Common Tern chick

This morning Michael Zajac and I went to Nickerson Beach in Long Island. Michael is a good friend as well as a fantastic photographer. He is also a member of BPN (Bird Photographers Network).
We arrived at 5:25 am and started immediately towards the beach. Much of the hustle and bustle in the colony continues and is apparent the moment you step onto the sand. In coming skimmers with fish were the first to grab our attention. Then came the sounds. You immediately sense the chaos from the barking skimmers and from the whistling cries of the oystercatchers. They fly around and around almost always landing in the same spot. Next came the dive bombing terns. They are fast and furious. Their cackle is your first warning -if you don’t back off they will dip down and try to scare you off. When all else fails they will paint you with whitewash. On this morning there were about 25 juvenile Common Terns standing in a line just outside the colony. We were surprised that there were so many Great Black-back Gulls in such close proximity to the young terns. Why? The young Common Tern makes a great breakfast for the Great Black-back Gull. In addition there were more than one hundred black-backeds down by the ocean.

Michael and I ran into one of my previous workshop clients Tom Knoop. Tom had taken a workshop that Roman and I gave in June. When he arrived he stated that he wouldn’t be needing any instruction and that he, like many other photographers, was just trying to learn the ins and outs of a new shooting location. In April while photographing on James Shadle’s boat I spoke to a man who had attended the “Best of Florida Workshop” with James and Jim Neiger. He said that all he wants is to be brought to a location at the right time of year and to know in advance what he might expect.

As some of you may know Roman Kurywczak and I had a successful workshop season at Nickerson Beach. I will be going to Nickerson alot during the month of August and am offering private sessions. I have already booked a few dates and would like to book some more. Please contact me via e-mail; the e-mail address in the right hand column of this blog. For more information and pricing, check out my workshop page by clicking the link at the top of this page.

Common Tern Juvenile in flight

Common Tern Juveniles


Skimmer

Skimmer

Juvenile Skimmer

Skimmer Fight