Last Tuesday I had the privilege of going birding on South Beach in Chatham, Massachusetts which is out on Cape Cod. While I was there I saw so many birds! Many of them were species I thought I would never see in my life. 15 were Life Birds! The Jaeger is one of them. So, imagine my surprise and delight when this bird flew in over the beach in pursuit of a Forster’s tern. I focused my 70-300mm lens on it and panned as it flew over the beach zigging and zagging and eventually flying right over my head! When I off-loaded the photos I was amazed, but I still needed the help of Matt Malin for a positive I. D. Matt birds around this area regularly and knows the species. Jeff and Dawn Fine and I followed him around the beach for the day and I will always remember it as being one of the best days of my life. I am letting the photos speak for themselves. They were all taken with the Nikon D80 set in Sports Mode for rapid firing and central focus. In this way I could lock on the bird and follow its flight. Not all shots are perfect but I think they will give you a feel of the excitement and the flight of both species of birds. I am amazed at the shapes their wings take as they fly and matt tells me the jaeger is missing its central tail feathers which it has probably molted. I hope you enjoy The Flight of the Jaeger.
To read the Overview of this day please scroll down one post or click on the link: South Beach Birding Overview
(click on the link to see more amazing birds!)
