Watery Wednesday #52: Just Skimming Along Old Tampa Bay

It's Watery Wednesday and this seabird is certainly enjoying hanging out on the sand of Old Tampa Bay. The Black Skimmer seabird, Rynchops niger, breeds in North and South America and has become very common in Southern California. Northern populations winter in the warmer waters of the Caribbean and the tropical and subtropical pacific coasts. They like to winter on public beaches, even those with a lot of human activity, or sand bars where they hang out with sea gulls and terns. I found this Skimmer with gulls and smaller seabirds at a busy beach on Picnic Island. They get their name from the way they skim across the top of the waters with their lower beak down at the surface to catch small fish. Unlike a lot of birds, their bright red-orange feet are webbed.


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