Message 318 of 845

Shooting Black Skimmers

As many of you know, Black Skimmers are my favorite photo subject. The action is lightning fast, the birds are beautiful and they are only seasonally available. Well the birds are back at St Marks NWR and I would like to share some of this weekends experiences and photos. Heres something I want to RAVE about.

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An early arrival Saturday to find the birds and a place to shoot them without spooking them.
The extended drought has left this wet, mushy seagrass as the only place to sit.

Note: Bring something to sit on next trip!

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4 months ago
Well the skimmers are flying through pods of baitfish concentrated by the drought. Here comes the first one now.

This view certainly shows how a bird that looks like a Toucan from the side can glide so effortlessly through air and water. A very thin frontal profile.

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4 months ago
The skimmer dips the bottom half of his beak into the water to scoop a fish at speed.


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4 months ago
The action attracts the attention of other birds.


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4 months ago
A pair of juvenile White Ibis wander by.


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4 months ago
At the end of each run the Skimmers take a big turn and come thru the baitfish pods again.


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4 months ago
Apparently "How low can you go" is a big deal with these birds.

This one is in very shallow water.

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4 months ago
Much like photographing them, when fishing they miss a lot!


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4 months ago
The birds are very manueverable and even though low to the water can still make turns while fishing.


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4 months ago
Well someones having some success .

A Tricolor Heron

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4 months ago
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