Outer Green Island Common Terns Attack!

As the breeding season progresses, the terns become more and more aggressive toward intruders, divebombing researchers who are trying to do counts on the nests and chicks. The terns will ceaselessly peck at their heads, try to shoot excrement on them, call out in a cacophany of sound designed in hopes of warding them off.

Imagine a tornado of terns swirling overhead with the sole purpose of driving you away. Island intern Kaitlyn Nafzinger got a lucky catch, grabbing this common tern out of the sky for a moment before letting it go again.

Photo Courtesy of OGI Supervisor, Catherine Pham