Baby Birdorable: Black Skimmer

If you think our Birdorable birds are cute as adults, what about when they are babies? Below are some baby photos (shared via Flickr Creative Commons) of the Black Skimmer. Black Skimmers nest in colonies in salt marshes, on beaches, and other areas close to water. Usually four eggs are laid in a scrape-type nest depression in the sand or nesting substrate. Both parents incubate the eggs for around 23 days. Chicks are hatched in a semi-precocial state - they are covered in down and are able to walk from the nest scrape just 1-2 hours after hatching.

Black skimmer (Rynchops niger) chicks pipping in eggs
Black skimmer (Rynchops niger) chicks pipping in eggs by USFWS Pacific Southwest Region
Black skimmer chick
Black skimmer chick by USFWS/Southeast
Black Skimmer Chicks
Black Skimmer Chicks by Dan Pancamo
skimmer feeding chick
skimmer feeding chick by cordfish
skimmer feeding chick 1
skimmer feeding chick by cordfish
Two Chicks
Two Chicks by Dan Pancamo

Pretty cute, right? Be sure to check out our Birdorable Black Skimmer t-shirts and gifts!

Comments

Louise Warner on February 6, 2017 at 5:30 PM wrote:
they have odd bills.
Spurwing Plover on May 22, 2022 at 5:53 AM wrote:
They fly low over t he water with their Lower Mandible skimming the surface and snapping shut when it makes contact with a Fish

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