Baby skimmers all grown up

Juvenile skimmer staring at himself in the pictures. The cones above were stationed all over the beach area where the skimmers had been nesting.

Juvenile skimmer getting a drink a water. He kept his eye on me. This was my first time seeing a baby in the water.

Getting some shade under a sign (or hiding from the tourists).

All lined up.

Stretching!

Ready for take off. He didn't go very far.

Practicing their duet?

Parting shot.

I'm sure there's still a few straggler babies hanging around but by now most of these are gone. I took these a couple of weeks ago after work. I would think the parents are tired of staying in the same spot for several months and are ready to move on. I'm not sure if the babies go with the parents or take off on their own right away. Most of the year you won't find many skimmers on this stretch of beach so I probably won't head back here until early next spring. It was so much fun watching these little birds grow up but nerve wracking as well. Watching them fight over space and food. I saw a few ones that didn't make it. I'm not sure if there was an official count done but there had to have been at least 100 babies born in this little spot this year. Hopefully, next year I'll be back with a new batch of baby pictures.  Below is the 3 phases of the black skimmer.

Check out more birds at World Bird Wednesday. 

A goose on the beach - Skywatch Friday

I'm taking pictures of the baby skimmers and happen to look down the beach. I thought I must have had heat stroke when I saw a goose walking around the beach. I've never seen a goose on a beach in the Tampa bay area.

Then I realized what was going on. Barbara, the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary hospital administrator, was taking the goose for a walk down the beach. He must be a resident of the sanctuary. Or he might be getting some exercise before he's released back in the wild.

He seemed very tame and enjoying his walk. He stayed pretty close to Barbara.

Short video of the goose walking back to the sanctuary.

Ahhh! The sun was going down. It was time to go home.

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Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary

Juvenile night heron.

A few late baby pelicans.

Scruffy looking great egret. I think he had been fishing for food.

Pelican fly by.

On my way to see the baby skimmers, I stopped by the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary to visit the injured birds. The sanctuary had opened the nets on the big pelican pen so that all of the baby pelicans that were born there could fly away. I guess anything that's not injured can fly out. I did find a few late baby pelicans there. They must have been the last ones to be born. When I was there in early spring the place was full of white fuzzy baby pelicans. Now they are all grown up and gone. There were also a  lot of juvenile night herons hanging around the trees. The wild night herons come there to have their babies.

Stop by the seabird sanctuary if you are ever in the Tampa Bay area. It's free to get in but they really need donations. Seabird Sanctuary link

Nesting Black Skimmers

Parent screaming for me to get off their beach. It's sitting on eggs.

Landing.

Looking for a good fishing spot.

Sitting on eggs.

Taking a bath.

A small part of the nesting colony. The skimmers laying flat on the ground are probably sitting on eggs.

It's skimmer time! There's a small flock of skimmers that nest on the beach, just outside of the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary. When I took these pictures, a couple of weekends ago, there were no babies yet. As of last week there are babies everywhere so I'll be posting baby pictures soon. For the last 3 late springs, I've been heading out to the Redington Shores/Indian Shores beach. Around 300 skimmers come here to nest. The sanctuary ropes off the nesting area since it's right in the middle of a busy beach.  These birds are pretty aggressive since they have to fend off mean gulls and other prey who want to eat their young. If you stand close to the rope, the skimmers will fly towards your head. Most photographers will stay back and sit or lay on the sand to get the best pictures. It's pretty amazing to see all of these unusual birds living so close together.

More birds at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary

Great blue heron nest high up in the shade trees at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.  This one sits right over the raptor's enclosure.

You can guess what happens next. Soon there should be some baby great blues.

Permanent resident scratching.

Juvenile night heron.

The three stooges. Baby pelicans finally walking around.

Still some baby pelicans being born. This one was sitting on two brand new babies (although they look like plucked chickens at first).

One of my favorite permanent residents with the torn beak pouch. I always see him when I visit.

Still some nest building going on so there will be more babies to come.

Spring is here at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary. Between the wild birds coming to nest and the permanently injured birds already nesting there are lots of babies to see. A couple of weekends ago I stopped by there with my sister. She hadn't been there when all of the babies where there so it was a treat. There were a few pelican couples arguing over nesting spots so I think they will have more babies there in the next couple of  months. At the end of spring, the sanctuary will open the netting so all of the baby pelicans can fly away, although I think a handful will still hang around for free handouts. 

Baby night herons at Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary

Profile of adult black crowned night heron. Those red eyes really stick out.

Night heron hanging on the roof of the sanctuary.

Baby night heron high up in the tree.

Adult night heron.

Baby screaming for mom.

Most people go to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary to see the normal stuff; injured pelicans, egrets and a few raptors. But what surprises a lot of people when they get there is the baby birds high up in the trees. Colonies of night herons descend on the sanctuary during this time and build nests in the shade trees over the sanctuary. They have babies there and it can get really loud with all of those baby night herons screaming for food. I guess the wild night herons think it's a safe place to raise a family. The trees are full of them right now. It's interesting how different the babies look from the parents. They start out brown spotted and end up that pretty shade of cream and gray. Just be careful where you stand at the sanctuary. Those shade trees are full of birds and that poop has to go somewhere. Take it from someone who knows, bird poop is not good for the camera. I spent a few minutes in the bathroom cleaning my lens. I hope I got it all off.  

Foggy morning at Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary

One of the hundreds of northern gannets affected by the oil spill recouperating. The sanctuary released a handful of the few remaining this past week.

Great egret eating at the beach entrance to the sanctuary. Not sure if it caught the fish itself or stole it from the santuary.

Laughing gulls in the fog on the beach.

It was a quiet morning on the beach due to the fog and impending storm.

Flying in the fog. There's always some kid chasing after the poor birds, even in the fog.

Fog on the beach is kinda cool (unless you're a tourist trying to get a tan). Luckly for me (and the tourist), most weekends right now are nice. But recently, on my trip to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, it was foggy until late in the morning. There weren't too many people out walking on the strip of beach that the sanctuary sits on. The beach was full of gulls hiding out until the fog lifted. It's hard to get good pictures in the fog, everything looks gray in the background. But, still, even a foggy walk on the beach is pretty great.

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Baby pelicans

The proud parents.

Mom, don't sit on me.

Shhh! Sleeping twins.

Busy parents.

Up close. This pelican has pretty colors on it's face.

He was feeding the injured pelicans and stopped to give this one a head scratch. The pelican was in heaven and didn't want him to stop.

I had heard there were baby pelicans at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary. The big pen with all of the permanently injured pelicans has nests set up all around it. When I stopped by on a recent rainy, foggy morning there were several nests that had babies on them.  In a couple of months, the sanctuary will open the nets on the top of the pen for the babies to fly out. At that point they can come and go as they please. I think most take off and are gone for good. A few stick around for the free handouts. Baby pelicans are cute with all of that white fuzz. They look like little piles of marshmallows. I want to try and get back when they get a little bigger to see them walking around.