If you look close just to the top left of the green sprigs you can see a baby skimmer under the mom's right wing.
This mom's eggs aren't done yet.
This mom had 2 little babies, probably only 2 or 3 days old.
Another mom shading her babies. She also had one egg that hadn't hatched yet.
I've heard there are over 300 skimmers nesting in the roped off area at Redington Shores beach. It's quite the site to see and very loud. There were only a few babies there so far but still tons of unhatched eggs. I'm going back again this week to see if there are more babies and if any of them are out roaming around yet. The ones in the above pictures were only a few days old and all were hiding under a parent. Last week I had my 300mm lens but this week I'm going to bring my 500mm. I was standing a good 25 feet away from the rope and the skimmers were dive bombing my head. They did not want anyone stopping and looking into their area. They are very aggressive at protecting their space.
On a sad note about skimmers, a nesting ground for black skimmers was destroyed by crews shooting Sea-Doo watercraft advertisements last Wednesday. They had permits from the county to shoot the commercial but no one was there to supervise. The helicopter pilot admits he flew down too low and too close to the preserve where the skimmers were nesting. These birds are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A link to the entire article is below.
Always like to see moms and babies Dina.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
Costas