Birth

Just before the 4th of July, my husband was down in our swimming area cutting back some of the plant life so that we could put a table and chairs in the shade. At the edge of this space, close to the shore, he discovered this nest of tern eggs.

Once we got down there, we quickly erected some visual barriers so that no one would tread on them. We also covered the eggs with some plant material laid over upended rocks to provide shade without adding any weight.

Mama flitted around all day and, we assume, quickly returned to the nest as soon as we left. The next morning, when Jay walked down to the river, she bolted from the weeds.

Two days later, he found these babies lying where the eggs had been. If you look carefully at the second picture, you can pick out the heads of three chicks though we believe that all four hatched. The next day, everything was gone, including the eggshells.

But we know the babies are around in the weedy stuff because Mama is on the swimming rocks doing her drama routine of dragging her wing to draw us away from the babies. We steer clear and wish them well, still amazed at how fast Lady Nature moves when it's on the wing.