The remarkable bill of the Black Skimmer sets it apart from all other American birds. The large red and black bill is knife-thin and the lower mandible is longer than the upper. The bird drags the lower bill through the water as it flies along, hoping to catch small fish.
(source: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Skimmer/id)
Emily Carter ~ Nature as Art 
I’ve never seen these before but wow the way nature engineers genetics, amazing! beautiful shots 🙂
Now these guys are super cool birds. I’ve only seen good numbers like this only one other time and that was about 5 years ago in Florida. I could have watched them all afternoon. Couldn’t believe the little minnows they were catching while ‘skimming’
They sure have it to an art don’t they? reminds me of the scene in finding nemo when the pelican swings them into it’s mouth lol
Simply superb! 🙂
You are too kind Fatima. Thank you!
Amazing birds! I have never seen these before. Isn’t nature inventive!
Nature continues to amaze me. So thrilled to be able to show a new bird to you. 🙂
I watched a documentary on Netflix, and these birds were part of the show. Incredibly interesting. Your shots are absolutely stunning – thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for your generous comment. What was the documentary that you watched? I’m interested in it. These birds are so awesome to watch.
I watched so many one weekend – I’ll have to go back and rewatch. I think maybe Speed Kills: Ocean? I know it was National Geographic. I would start there.
Great Rebecca. I’ll certainly go look for it. Thanks!
Great shots! I keep looking for these birds but haven’t seen them yet.
I tried to figure out where your home base is. I’ve also found them in Florida. These are in Delaware at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Hope one day you get to enjoy them skimming.
Home base is NJ at the moment. I have looked at Sandy Hook, Cape May and last week in Florida. I’ll spot them soon and the wait always makes it more special! 🙂 Thanks for the Delaware tip!
They are on Prime Hook Road, at Prime Hook NWR. Where in Florida were you? The other time I saw them was at Cedar Key, but that was in Feb/March time. You can also check ebird.org for reports of where they may be.
Did you get the warblers and red knots at Cape May this year?
Thanks for the tip! We were on Sanibel Island in Florida. Great wildlife experience as well as a beautiful family spot. I was at Cape May just before the migration really started.