Giving

Part 1 of a series of 2.

Sometime back in 2005, I had the privilege to visit a rarely seen sight in Singapore, a black-naped tern nesting colony on a rocky outcrop off the coast of Singapore. A couple of photographers including myself rented a boat and set out on several trips to shoot these beautiful terns during their breeding season. It was an extraordinary experience for me to witness up close and personal the lives of these birds and document them on digital stills and film. We managed to witness the courtship, mating, feeding and rearing of the chicks by the adult birds from days old hatchling to juvenile birds almost ready to fly on their own. The experience left me awed and touched by the wonders of nature, much better than what any documentary or book could do. I hope the place will be left untouched and preserved for future generations of black-naped terns.

In this still, a black-naped tern is shown bringing back a fish to the nesting colony, presumably for its chick, but sometimes other adult terns attack it to force it to drop the fish and they then steal it for their own offspring or self-consumption.

Canon EOS 10D DSLR with 300mm lens. Shot handheld. Fullview recommended.