ECO
By Peter Roos
The Black Skimmer is a seabird with a black back, black wings with white edging, and a white belly and head. Its large red and black bill begins wide at the top and gradually becomes smaller as it forms a sharp tip at the end of the bill. The lower part of the bill is longer than the top, which they skim along the top of the water to catch fish. Skimmers can reach a height of 20 inches with a wingspan up to 3.5 feet.
The skimmer has a unique style of feeding that involves literally “skimming” the surface of the water with their lower bill. When they contact a prey item, they quickly bend their head forward and snap the upper bill closed, seizing their prey.
Breeding occurs during the summer, generally between May and early September. Nesting occurs in colonies consisting of one to several hundred pairs of skimmers. Skimmers will utilize group mobbing to protect the nests. Skimmers usually lay three to five eggs per nest and eggs are incubated by both parents for approximately 23-25 days. Each parent incubates the eggs for up to four hours at a time. Once the chicks are hatched, parents guard the offspring until they are able to fly at about 28-30 days old.
The black skimmer inhabits coastal areas in Florida such as estuaries, beaches, and sandbars. Skimmers can be found from the coasts of the northeastern U.S., down to Mexico, and over to the Gulf coast of Florida.
Habitat loss due to coastal development is the main threat to the species. People are relocating to the coasts at unprecedented levels causing increased development and traffic on the beaches, as well as increased predation, all of which are detrimental to skimmer habitat. Because skimmers nest on the beach and are colonial, they are extremely vulnerable to disturbance by people, pets, and predators. Predators will feed on skimmer eggs and chicks and include species such as raccoons, crows, opossums, feral hogs, and coyotes. Other threats include recreational activity, beach driving, shoreline hardening, mechanical raking, oil spills, and increased presence of domestic animals, all of which may prevent or disrupt nesting or result in the death or abandonment of eggs and young. Global climate change is an impending threat to the black skimmer. Sea level rise may cause destruction to primary nesting areas, resulting in a decreased population size.
The black skimmer is protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It is also protected as State-designated Threatened by Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species Rule.