Black Skimmers

After photographing the whooping cranes, we went to Galveston to see what else we could find. We stumbled into the largest flock of black skimmers I have ever seen. These are really interesting birds in that their top beak is shorter than their lower beak. Their names comes from their feeding method of flying just above the surface of the water with that long lower beak skimming through the water to catch small surface fish. Their wingspan seems disproportionally large (42 - 50 in.) compared to their body (16 - 20 in.). These birds were not interested in hunting during our visit. The wind was blowing hard and making for a chilly January day. They would all fly up when something startled them (not us) and then circle back to land. They would bunch up tight with all of them facing into the cold wind. Every once-in-a-while, one bird might pick up his head or take a short flight to a better location.


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