Caspian Terns on the shores of Lake Erie

Birding at the Midwest Birding Symposium in Lakeside, Ohio.
One of the water birds I most enjoyed watching along the shores of Lake Erie was the Caspian Tern. I loved how they would skim over the water with their bills pointed down…always busy, always looking around, never content to just soar with their bills pointed forward looking out at the horizon. Often they would fly directly over me, and it would look like they were watching me, but I knew they weren’t. They were looking for fish, and when they found one, whoa…that soaring plunge headfirst into the water was always fascinating. The Caspian Terns were hard to photograph. They were always moving fast and flying high, so I painted one today for a closer look.

Watercolor of a Caspian Tern, Lake Erie

Caspian Tern from the Lakeside Pier

It doesn’t matter how high he flies,

that carrot bill stands out!

The Lakeside Pier is a great place to just sit and watch

the birds fly by. I saw my first Caspian Tern here.

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