Least Tern: York County, Maine, USA, May 2024 — Though the Atlantic population of Least Tern is not Federally endangered, the Least Tern is on the Endangered Species list in Maine, and known nesting sites are monitored and protected. If you frequent a beach where Least Terns nest, you will see the signs and roped off areas. Please respect them. On Maine’s well developed coast there is not a lot of habitat left to them. Least Terns are acrobatic flyers and aggressive defenders of their nest sites. If you get too close they will let you know by buzzing you repeatedly until you move on. I happened to be on a beach when the folks from Fish and Wildlife were repositioning the ropes and signs to protect a nest site that terns were trying to establish outside the protected area. The terns were not happy, and, of course, incapable of realizing that the work was for their benefit. I stood well back and tried to photograph the terns in flight…which, if you have ever tried, or even if you have seen Least Terns in flight, you will realize is not easy to do at the best of times. This bird, though it looks close in the cropped version, was still quite a ways from me. OM Systems OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.