![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/forsters-tern-3254-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"forsters-tern-3254-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nYes, Virginia, sometimes lightning does strike twice.<\/p>\n
Three days ago I posted a few photos of the first “fresh juvenile” (a young juvenile whose plumage shows little or no fading or wear) Forster’s Tern I’d ever seen, much less photographed. Those photos were taken at Bear River MBR on September 6, two days before I posted them. Two days after that, on September 8, I photographed another one at the refuge.<\/p>\n
So, I went 14 years without seeing (or at least noticing) a fresh juvenile Forster’s Tern and then photographed two of them within two days.<\/p>\n
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This is one of the photos I posted three days ago of the first fresh juvie. The ginger-brown markings on the head, back and scapulars distinguish a fresh juvie from an adult. In this species, those colors last a very short time as they quickly turn to whitish and gray due to fading and wear.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/forsters-tern-4169-vertical-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"forsters-tern-4169-vertical-ron-dudley\\"")
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1\/8000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n And here’s the second fresh juvie I photographed, two days and 3-4 miles apart from where I photographed the first one. There are many hundreds of Forster’s Terns on the refuge right now so I doubt they’re the same bird, though I suppose it’s possible.<\/p>\n I love this photo for a variety of reasons. It documents an unusual bird for me but I also think it’s a pretty neat photo in its own right. I like the flight posture, the good light on the bird’s dorsal surfaces and the dark, bicolored water in the background. And how could the photographer go wrong with such a beautiful subject?<\/p>\n I got a few other shots of this bird but most of them weren’t quite as sharp as this one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you prefer, here’s a horizontal crop of the same photo. But I had to add canvas to this version because I didn’t have enough room in the frame on the left for a composition that works for me.<\/p>\n They say that good things come in threes so the next time I visit the refuge I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note: I suspect that some readers who don’t know me might think I’ve done some pretty heavy-handed processing to this photo, including but not limited to replacing or modifying the background. Nothing could be further from the truth. All I did was crop, convert from RAW to JPEG, sharpen and a minor exposure adjustment. That, plus add canvas to the second version of the photo.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yes, Virginia, sometimes lightening does strike twice. (3 photos)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/forsters-tern-4169-horizontal-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"forsters-tern-4169-horizontal-ron-dudley\\"")
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