eggs. Both parents share time incubating the eggs for
the twenty-one to twenty-six days it takes them to hatch.
They also share responsibility for feeding their chicks
meals of regurgitated fish and crustaceans. The chicks
have speckled light colored down feathers and mandibles
of equal length. By the time they are ready to fly, about
a month after hatching, the lower mandible attains its
characteristic longer length. Fledgings make their first
attempts at skimming for food about two days after their
first flight. It takes a while for them to develop their skills
and they are usually dependent on their parents for food
for several more weeks.
The black skimmer is found over a large
geographic area, including the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf
coasts of the U.S., ranging as far north as New York. It
also lives in South America and the Caribbean. In the
northernmost parts of its range, it is migratory, staying
only during the warm months to breed and then heading
back to warmer climes. Most of Kiawah’s skimmers
remain year round, their numbers only slightly decreasing
in the winter.
During the nineteenth century, the back skimmer
population declined greatly because skimmers were
hunted for their feathers and for use as food. Their
eggs were also collected and sold commercially. Today,
the greatest threat to the skimmer lies in increasing
development in many of the areas in which it lives.
Although not federally protected, the black skimmer is
classified as “endangered” in New Jersey and is listed
as “a species of special concern” by several other states,
including South Carolina. Hopefully, protection of
nesting areas and other conservation efforts will keep this
unique bird on our beaches in abundance for many future
generations to enjoy. n
Photograph courtesy of Jack Kotz
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