Presented here are images of Black Terns (Chlidonas niger) that were photographed at Bald Eagle State Park, near Howard, PA on August 11, 2012. There were 8 of these western terns in several plumages. I obtained these images from a canoe during a windy, wave-tossed afternoon paddle on the western side of the lake. The birds were hunting insects on the leeward side of an old railroad grade that runs through the middle of the lake, west of the town of Howard. Most of the birds appeared to be of juvenile plumage, though one bird appeared to be molting to first winter plumage and another two were molting to breeding plumage: one bird with a white on the crown and another with black on crown. I am not an expert on these birds, having only seen breeding adults in North Dakota. My reference for the ID's was "The Sibley Guide to Birds" by David Sibley: used both the app and the large format book.
Camera was a Nikon D200, and a Nikkor AF 300mm f4 lens. Canoe was a 14' Bell, Yellowstone Solo in kevlar layup.