Passing in Formation

I captured this image of a flock of birds passing over the water at Gulfport, Mississippi. Or perhaps it’s two flocks in quiet procession. In the foreground are royal terns (Thalasseus maximus), their crested heads and sharp orange beaks cutting through the air. Farther out from shore, trailing low and deliberate, are black skimmers (Rynchops niger), distinguishable by their dark plumage and elongated lower mandibles.

If you enjoy wildlife and nature photography, check out my photo gallery here:

https://swede1952-photographs.pixels.com

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Good morning. 😴😫☕

3 June 2025

I’ve definitely got a case of morning-head today. First thing I did? Spilled the beans—literally. I went to fill the grinder and ended up scattering coffee beans all over the counter. Probably didn’t get enough sleep last night; I was wilding out into the scandalously late hour of… after ten. Yep, totally out of control—watching a movie. There was a stretch in my 20s when I’d stay out at the clubs until sunrise, five or six nights a week. Monday was my recovery day, and somehow, I still managed to function. I survived it, but barely. Luck definitely did some of the heavy lifting. Eventually, the idea of “responsibility” began to trickle into my brain—slowly, reluctantly, like it wasn’t quite sure it belonged there.

“Character—the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life—is the source from which self-respect springs.” — Joan Didion

#morning #responsibility #birds #shorebirds #RoyalTerns #BlackSkimmers

Looking Out to Sea

A couple of years ago, I captured this image of five royal terns (Thalasseus maximus) gazing out over the sea at Holly Beach, Louisiana, along the Gulf of Mexico. If you look closely beneath the terns on the far left, you can spot the tiny black legs of a much smaller bird—possibly a sanderling—hidden just beneath them.

If you enjoy wildlife and nature photography, check out my photo gallery here:

https://swede1952-photographs.pixels.com

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #wildlife #nature #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #birdphotography #shorbirds #terns #RoyalTerns

Last One In is a Rotten Egg

This scene of three royal terns (Thalasseus maximus), in my imagination, brings to mind three children at their favorite swimming hole. The bird on the left seems ready to leap into the water, daring the other two to follow, as if shouting, 'Last one in is a rotten egg!'

"M-O-O-N"—that spells 'explore my photo gallery' here:

https://swede1952-photographs.pixels.com

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Beachside Gathering

Here is a scene from Holly Beach, Louisiana. There are two ring-billed bulls (Larus delawarensis) in the foreground and three royal terns (Thalasseus maximus) farther back. If you notice beneath the foremost gull, there is the bottom of a smaller white bird with black legs, that bird is likely a forester's tern.

I've had several inquiries about how to get a print of some my photographs. This is a hobby for me, so I haven't been equipped to handle those requests. But I enjoy what I'm doing and want to share my photographs.

So, I set up an account and website with pixels. My website is:

https://swede1952-photographs.pixels.com

If you want a print of one of my photographs, you can get it there, If I haven't loaded it, let me know which one it is, and I'll gladly load it there for you.

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Morning Gathering on the Sandbar

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At the Shore

It will be a scorcher today, how about a beach scene. It's interesting that shore birds at the beach almost always face the ocean. In this photo there are royal terns (Thalasseus maximus) with the orange bills, Forester's terns (Sterna forsteri), the smaller birds in front, and there are some ring-bill gulls Larus (delawarensis) mixed int among the terns. I took this photograph and Holly
Beach, Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico.

I don't post all of the photos that I post here to my Pixels gallery, but I post the photos I like best. Some don't make the cut. I usually wait a couple of days and see how I feel about it then.

You can check out my gallery at:

https://swede1952-photographs.pixels.com

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #wildlife #nature #bird #birds #birding #birdsofmastodon #birdwatching #birdphotography #beach #GulfofMexico #RoyalTerns #ForestersTern #ringbilledgull