John Chan / California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) roosting on a mudflat, with a flock of Elegant terns (Thalasseus elegans) nearby, Southern California, USA May/2019

John Chan / Juvenile California least tern (Sternula antillarum browni) begging for food from a decoy, used to attract breeding pairs to deserted nest sites, Huntington Beach, California, USA, June.

John Chan / California least tern chick (Sternula antillarum browni) falling over as it runs towards its parent returning to nest site, Huntington Beach, California, USA, June.

John Chan / Male California least tern (Sternula antillarum browni) presenting fish offering to female during mating, Huntington Beach, California, USA, May.

John Chan / Elegant terns (Thalasseus elegans) courting, Southern California, USA, March.

John Chan / Elegant tern (Thalasseus elegans) with a broken wing, attempting to take off, Southern California, USA, April.

John Chan / Western gulls (Larus occidentalis) attacking an Elegant tern (Thalasseus elegans) with a broken wing, Southern California, USA, April.

John Chan / Western gull (Larus occidentalis) feeding on a California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) on a mudflat at low tide, Southern California, USA, November.

John Chan / Male California Least Tern (Sternula antillarum browni) courting a female, presenting a fish before chasing off another male, Huntington Beach, California, USA, May.

Hiroya Minakuchi / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) pair gulp feeding and gulls hunting Northern Anchovy (Engraulis mordax), Monterey Bay, California

Claudio Contreras / Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni) in flight, Ensenada, Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, December.

Claudio Contreras / Heermann's Gulls (Larus heermanni) in flight. Ensenada, Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, December.