The Common Tern at Lake Hornborga

I made a stop on the way back home from Västmanland and that was at Lake Hornborga. My mind was set on two different things and the first to check out the Slavonian Grebe and the second to see if there were any Common Tern to photo.

There are at least three different sites not far from Lake Hornborga and I checked two of them. I found both of them to be active, but the one I had hoped to work with had a water drenched lawn and I didn’t have the sleeping mattress in the car which made me pass that opportunity. The small pond was also cluttered with water plants which were sad to see. I still might go there later on, but that will first be in a months’ time as I now have a hectic schedule before me with two weekends in Norway and two in Hungary.

The more famous place for the Slavonian Grebe was active with two couple and I really hope they will be able to breed successfully this year. The two pictures I have in the gallery is from this place.

The activity at Lake Hornborga was high. Especially at the Black-headed Gull colony, but I also saw a Great Crested Grebe couple at a nest site and Common Terns in the Gull colony.

Video: Black-headed Gull colony at Lake Hornborga

It is common to find the Common Tern and the Black-headed Gull sharing the same space at a breeding colony. I suspect they work well together protecting their young as the Common Tern are agile and the Black-headed Gull robust and fierce. I really hope I will get some time at my Common Tern colony this year as it feels like the breeding season might be on schedule this year and not as early as last year.

I stayed at Lake Hornborga for an hour to give myself time with the Common Tern as I found them actively fishing. Sadly the hide I used at Lake Hornborga aren´t good for photography as they hinder movement up and down making it more or less impossible to follow a diving bird. That is why I choosed to work with the different backgrounds to show two out of the three different backgrounds you can find right now at Lake Hornborga. The only background I didn´t choose to work with was the sky, as I find a blue sky to be somewhat boring as you lack the nice contrast between the bird and the background.

I find the green background to be my personal favorite and the one I like to work with. The brownish is also nice as it gives the picture a calmer appearance. I think both works nice, but the green gives the picture more of a push so to speak.

Please enjoy the Photo Gallery from Lake Hornborga.