Photo of the Day: Arctic Tern

Keith Kennedy got this photo of a soaring Arctic tern against a white background near the base of Dynjandi waterfalls (also called Fjallfoss, or “mountain falls”), in Westfjords, Iceland. After photographing the famous waterfall itself, he walked along the shoreline of the adjacent fjord for a chance to see some of the whooper swans on the water. Despite staying on the road, Kennedy says, he must have gotten close to an Arctic tern nest because an adult tern suddenly appeared, hovering just above his head and squawking at him. “I took a few quick images,” he says, “and then backed away so as not to stress the bird.”

This image was a Top 100 photo from the 2013 Audubon Magazine Photography Awards. To see all of the photos, click here.