It’s raining Forster’s terns at Bountiful Lake, and I’m not speaking metaphorically. Forster’s terns are literally raining out of the sky and into the lake, one of the many community fisheries along the Wasatch. Each bird remains in the water for only a second or two. With good aim and a little luck, the birds emerge with a small fish clasped in their beaks. ?Just don’t tell the terns the daily bag and possession limit is two; these birds are doing a lot better than that, and thankfully so — they’ve got hungry babies to feed.?Forster’s terns are members of the gull family, and like many of their cousins, they’re pale gray on top, pure white on the underside and have long, narrow wings made for artful flight. Slim proportions give most terns a delicate, swept look, and their highly aerial nature often gives them nicknames like angel wings.?There’s nothing angelic about a Forster’s tern’s voice, however. Bountiful Lake resonates with calls that sound like a chorus of hags with a five-pack-a-day habit. The adults fly over the water on fishing sorties with harsh, “Churr, Churr” advertising and contact calls. Juveniles chase their parents or wait impatiently at feeding areas vocalizing insistent, grating begging calls.?My husband, John, and I unknowingly chose a prime viewing spot along the south shore last week — prime because of the fish activity at the water’s surface just 20 to 50 feet out in a semicircle around us.?Single adults headed our way perhaps 20 feet above the water, sometimes trailed by a begging youngster. The adult bird flaps deliberately on sharp wings, head and beak pointed downward at a right angle to the body to search for prey. And then the bird spies something near the water’s surface, swoops up a foot or two with intense flapping to increase its loiter time over the spot, flips and dives head first. It’s purely a gravity fall with wings angled back stiffly. The tern looks like a dart.?Plop! With a little splash, the bird disappears briefly, only to emerge while flapping hard to lift out of the water. The successful dives end with a small, silvery fish in the bird’s beak — usually less than three inches long. The unsuccessful dives mark the start of another hunting sortie, and the bird goes around again. After 10 or 12 flaps, the adult gives a nearly imperceptible shake to free the water clinging to its feathers and off goes the parent with prey to feed the raucously begging juvenile.?Sometimes, adult and juvenile land in the water next to each other to make a lightning-fast fish exchange. Sometimes, the adult returns to a stand of stakes planted in the water next to one of the lake’s two islands, where several young birds perch and await the next food delivery. Angel wings flaps low over the youngster and the two touch beak-to-beak, exchanging the fish. And then the adult is off again, never having landed.?John and I were talking quietly along the bank at one point when the rain began. Plop! In the span of 10 or 15 seconds, five Forster’s terns dove into the semicircle of water within 50 feet of us, one as close as 20 feet. It was raining birds. I wondered if their activity corresponded to peak activity in the daily fishing forecast — active fish attract active fishers.?While that short period was exceptional during our hour-long stay, we easily witnessed 20 to 30 dives, about half of which resulted in the birds surfacing with fish.?The terns won’t be there much longer.?The adults’ natty black caps of summer plumage are giving way to their fall and winter look of white foreheads and droopy black teardrops encompassing their eyes. Orange beaks with black tips are becoming all-black for the winter, and their bright red-orange legs are beginning to dull as well.?Juvenile birds already wear the black teardrop around their eyes, black beaks, and their backs may show a brownish wash or brindled appearance. Those fresh brown feathers will continue to wear and fade into September until the juveniles are the same white, gray and black of their parents.?By then, however, they may be using Mexico’s community fisheries and launching their sorties with skills they learned by chasing their parents at Bountiful Lake.?

Kristin Purdy can be reached at gobirding@comcast.net.