Skimming the ocean

by Judi Dressler

Title

Skimming the ocean

Artist

Judi Dressler

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

This immature Black Skimmer is demonstrating the behavior that this bird is named for, which is skimming the water with the lower part of the jaw open, to catch fish. It was great fun to watch these speedy, graceful birds streaking across the shallow water! They are very soclal birds, hanging out in flocks to sleep and preen.

A long-winged bird with stark black-and-white plumage, the Black Skimmer has a unique grace as it forages in flight. Skimmers feed by opening the bill and dropping the long, narrow lower mandible into the water, skimming along until they feel a fish. Then they relax the neck, quickly closing their jaws and whipping the fish out of the water. Because they feed by essentially by touch, they can even forage at night. The world’s three species of skimmers are the only birds on earth that feed in this manner. Strictly coastal in most areas of North America, Black Skimmers are often seen resting on sandbars and beaches. Unlike most birds, their eyes have vertical pupils, narrowed to slits to cut the glare of water and white sand.

Photo taken on March 7, 2021, on S Padre Island, Texas.

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Descriptive keywords and tags for this image include skimmers, black skimmers, flying, birds, skimming, gulls, coastal birds, coast, coastal, shore, shore birds, shorebirds, immature, terns, shoreline, gulf of mexico, texas, south padre island, ocean, behavior, rynchops niger, laridae, beach, wildlife, wild, nature, dressler, and judi dressler.

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March 13th, 2021

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