Gallery: Sunset on the Jersey Shore

From the Summer 2019 issue of Living Bird magazine. Subscribe now.

There is something really special about watching a flock of birds without another human soul around you. I came upon a small flock of Forster’s Terns and Black Skimmers loafing and preening at sunset at Island Beach State Park along the central New Jersey shore. The light was gorgeous, and the very humid atmosphere cut down the power of the sun until it was just a glowing ball above the horizon. At the moment this tern began to preen, I got this shot, exposed for the back-lighting sun with just enough detail to see the bird and the pink glow on some of its feathers.