Birds

Baby Black Skimmer

July 25, 2011 by Corey 5 Comments

I know, I know, the cuteness lately is getting out of hand. First it was a bunch of baby waterfowl, then it was the baby Gadwall, then a variety of baby birds on the beach.  What can I say?  I am addicted to adorableness!  Besides, it takes a hard-hearted, callous, and cruel person to have a negative reaction to fuzzy baby birds.  Seriously, what kind of monster doesn’t want to look at adorableness all day long?

The baby Black Skimmer in this post was photographed just over a week ago in a colony of Common Terns and Black Skimmers (with the occasional American Oystercatcher) on the south shore of Long Island.  The fencing protecting the colony was respected, of course, but the birds often came near the edge of the fencing despite the presence of several photographers.  The confiding nature of the birds was, of course, greatly appreciated by the photographers, if the cacophony of clicking was any indication.

Black Skimmers often create their nest scrapes in in the colonies of other seabirds.  They incubate their four eggs for just over three weeks and the young usually fledge just under four weeks after hatching. To learn more about Black Skimmers, or just to see some flight shots of adult birds, please check out the recent gallery from Cupsogue Beach County Park.

If you liked this post and want to see more great images of birds make sure to check out 10,000 Clicks, our big (and growing) page of galleries here at 10,000 Birds.

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Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.