Following on from last weeks post on the Te Puru Terns, this week we have some images of the mating sequence. I had hoped to document courtship feeding culminating in mating but had to be content with documenting each of these behaviours separately.

Adding the hope for an isolated pair with a relatively undistracting background while photographing a chaotic collection of birds further complicates the situation. The above images show part of the courtship feeding ritual. I have other images of the transfer of the fish but only in a more crowded situation.

This next series of images is of another pair completing the mating sequence, considerately on the edge of the chaos.

Photos with Nikon D850 and Nikon 500mm f5.6PF lens