Today's featured feathered friend is the Black Skimmer. It is the largest of the three skimmer species in the world. The Indian Skimmer and the African Skimmer are smaller with only minor differences in appearance. The Black Skimmer can be found along U.S. coastlines from Cape Cod to Northern California and most of Central and South America. They can also be found along the shorelines of inland lakes, such as Lake Okeechobee.
Black Skimmers are large, long-winged, short-tailed, short-legged tern-like birds. Their bill is unmistakable; it is long, deep-based, gradually tapered, and the lower mandible is much longer than the upper mandible. From the side the bill appears long and thick, but is razor-thin which enables the bird to "skim" the surface of the water. Without this bill the bird would merely "plow" through the water.
The Black Skimmer is beautifully colored. It has a black cap, neck, back and wings with a bright white forehead, face, neck and underparts. Its long bill is black with a brilliant orange base. Its legs are reddish-orange. The average adult Skimmer is 18 inches long, weighs from eight ounces to a pound and has a wingspan of around four feet. Males and females are similar in appearance, although males are slightly
larger, heavier and have longer bills. Juveniles are similar to adults but have
a "mottled" appearance. Young Skimmers and chicks have normal looking
bills, the lower mandible becomes longer as they grow.
We visited Lido Beach, near Sarasota, and found a nesting colony of Skimmers and captured some great photos of parents with their chicks. Skimmers like many other water and shore birds lay and hatch their eggs in a "scrape", a depression in the sand. Here is a video of a parent with three chicks. Click here -----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mZ2kJsTdVY&feature=youtu.be
We visited Fort De Soto, in St. Petersburg, and took this video of a Black Skimmer foraging along the surface of the water. Click here -----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qai0czsryQ8&feature=youtu.be
Click on the links below to learn more and enjoy some of our favorite photos of the Black Skimmer.....tweet.....tweet!!
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| Adult with chicks (Taken 8/9/14, Lido Beach, Sarasota FL) |
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| Foraging for food ( Check out the wake left on the water) (Taken 8/12/14, Ft. De Soto Park, St. Petersburg FL) |
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| Black Skimmer in flight (Taken 8/12/14, Ft. De Soto Park, St. Petersburg FL) |
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| Juvenile Black Skimmer (Note the "mottled" appearance and the coloration of the bill) (Taken 8/9/14, Lido Beach, Sarasota FL) |
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| Up Close and Personal (Taken 8/9/14, Lido Beach, Sarasota FL) |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_skimmer
