We were able to come up to the line where the Park Service had set an area aside for nesting. The terns, however, did not read the signs and were nesting on both sides of the lines. It was amazing to see all the activity swirling all around. The terns have an interesting mating ritual. The male goes fishing and then with a fish in it’s beak, tries to impress a female tern. She usually rebuffs a few attempts. Some scientists think the size of the fish correlates to how well the female expects the male to provide for her brood. Anyway, we watched this unfold with multiple pairs of terns. I managed to isolate one from the time he starts to woo his potential mate until she accepts the fish from him.