Big Gulp Black Skimmer 2 of 3
by Gary F Richards
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Dimensions
2781.000 x 2011.000 pixels
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Title
Big Gulp Black Skimmer 2 of 3
Artist
Gary F Richards
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The black skimmer was unhappy with me, continuing to squawk and dive-bomb me while I took pictures of the flock and specifically a juvenile, possibly a female, that appeared to be making a nest in the sand right among the sunbathers (see Big Gulp Black Skimmer 2 and 3). I took this shot at my eye level less than two feet away as it was dive-bombing me and it appears to be taking a gulp out of the distant sunbather. This was on Lido Beach, Sarasota, Florida over July 4th weekend.
CONTEST WINS AND FEATURES:
Top Finish, 7 out of 391 in the Shots You Love, But No One Looks At, 12/21/2019
Featured in Beach Moments Group, 7/12/2019
Featured in FAA Portraits - Birds Group, 7/19/2019
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Birds of North America, the Black Skimmer (Rynchops Niger), one of North America's most distinctive coastal waterbirds, is noted for its unusual voice, bill, and feeding behavior. Its bill—brightly colored, laterally compressed, and knife-like, with the lower mandible extending beyond the maxilla—is uniquely adapted to catch small fish in shallow water. A feeding skimmer flies low over the water with its bill open and its lower mandible slicing the surface. When the mandible touches a fish, the upper bill (maxilla) snaps down instantly to catch it. The buoyant flight of this bird, coupled with its dog-like barks, prompted R. C. Murphy (Murphy 1936) to describe Black Skimmers as “unworldly…aerial beagles hot on the scent of aerial rabbits.”
Skimmers are highly social birds, nesting in colonies and forming large flocks outside the breeding season. Large, successful colonies usually occupy the same site from year to year, while small or failed colonies usually relocate. Neither nest site limitation nor enhanced sharing of information about food appear to account for skimmer coloniality. Over most of its range, this species nests in colonies with various species of terns, deriving some protection from these aggressive neighbors. Although skimmers are active throughout the day, they are largely crepuscular and even nocturnal; their tactile feeding lets them catch fish successfully in low light or darkness.
Three races of Black Skimmer inhabit North and South America. The North American race (R. n. niger) is almost entirely coastal, while the South American races (R. n. cinerascens and R. n. intercedens), as well as the Indian Skimmer (R. albicollis) and the African Skimmer (R. flavirostris), nest mainly on riverine sandbars.
Uploaded
July 12th, 2019
Statistics
Viewed 667 Times - Last Visitor from Blanchard, OK on 03/25/2024 at 1:02 PM
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Comments (28)
Lesley Evered
This is a fantastic capture Gary...instant favourite and like and voted for in the Birds On The Beach contest
Karen Adams
What a great series, Gary! Love the angle of this and the wonderful composition it creates with the other one in the top corner! Great capture of a moment! . . . .fv
Gary F Richards replied:
Karen, I appreciate your detailed feedback! There are several more I want to add when I can! Thank you for the complement and support!
Shoal Hollingsworth
Stunning in-flight capture, I voted for you in the CAUGHT IN THE ACTION contest, good luck
Gary F Richards replied:
Thank you very much! Your complements and support are greatly appreciated! I voted for you too.