Fall Forster's and Bonaparte's

     Several times during September and October some years ago, I stood on a rock outcropping above the lower Susquehanna River in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to see what birds were along the river at that time.  The river there is bordered on both sides by steep hills, all of them clothed in deciduous woods. 
     From that overlook over the river, I saw an occasional bald eagle, or a pair of them, soaring majestically over the river, or a great blue heron and ring-billed gulls in powerful flight.  And most every time I observed the river, with binoculars, from that vantage point, I saw little groups of Forster's terns, perhaps totaling up to 60 of them, winging swiftly up and down the river in their searches for small fish to catch and eat.  They were post-breeding birds that might have come up river daily from the nearby Chesapeake Bay.
     And, a few years later, from a dock near Perryville, Maryland, along the Upper Chesapeake Bay during an October evening, I observed about a dozen Forster's winging strongly and gracefully in circles about thirty feet above the water.  Each tern powered along on narrow, swept-back wings, then dove abruptly, beak-first, into the water after small fish.  All those fish-catching terns were entertaining and inspiring to see in action fairly close up.
     And, occasionally, during November, I see little groups of Bonaparte's gulls pumping low and gracefully, into the wind, over the water of the lower Susquehanna.  There they pick up small fish and other edible tidbits from the surface, or just below it.             
     Forster's terns and Bonaparte's gulls, though from different bird families, have characteristics in common.  They are about the same size, the Forster's being about fourteen and a half inches long, and the Bonnies being around thirteen inches in lenght.  Each of these species is a petite member of its family.  Both species fly buoyantly over the water, with their thin beaks pointed down, while watching for insect and tiny fish prey.  Both are entertaining and inspiring to watch in dainty flight, as they seek and procure food.  Both kinds are mostly light-gray on top, white below and have white tails.  And many individuals of both types migrate along rivers.                    
     Little groups of Forster's and Bonaparte's are along the lower Susquehanna each autumn, the terns mostly in September and October and the gulls mostly in October and November.  Both species slowly make their way farther south to spend the winter where water doesn't freeze, especially along coastal waters, so they can get food through winter. 
     Forster's terns live only in America.  They fly on quick, powerful wing beats and have a black patch of feathers around the eye and ear on each side of their heads during winter.  Each female lays a few eggs on a mat of grass in marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, from Maryland to Texas.  And these attractive, little terns winter from South Carolina to the Gulf Coast.
     Bonaparte's gulls have an interesting bounding flight into the wind.  In winter, each Bonaparte's has a small, black patch of feathers behind each eye.  But a long, white stripe on each wing is the most distinctive feature on these gulls the year around.  Those white stripes appear like banners on flying Bonaparte's gulls.
     Bonaparte's build twig, grass and moss nurseries on coniferous tree limbs in marshes near lakes in the spruce-fir forests of Canada.  And they winter on the shores of the Great Lakes and along Atlantic shores from southern New England to Florida and the Gulf Coast.
     These beautiful species of petite water birds are intriguing to experience anytime of year.  I have seen them only in migration, but am thrilled with them every time I do.  They are lovely and entertaining.