Touching heaven
View Large -- Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri)
Eastshore State Park, Albany, California
from "The Windhover" by Gerald Manley Hopkins
Written about a falcon, but it fits terns, too --
"High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,--the achieve of, the mastery of the thing! "
To see some of my other tern photos, click my
Great thanks to my many Flickr friends and acquaintances who've helped this photo reach the 100 Favorites mark! I'm grateful and humbled by your comments and faves.
This photo now appears on a sign in Cesar Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina in Berkeley, California -- about 30 feet from the first burrowing owl observation area. It's one of about 10 photos of birds shown on the sign; my photo of a Western grebe also appears on the sign.