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Rynchops niger Linnaeus, 1758
Black Skimmer
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: Rare
Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S1
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP High Priority Species (SGCN): Yes
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 10
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Tidal creeks and tidal ponds; sandy beaches, spits and dredge islands
The adult black skimmer is 45-46 cm (18 in) in length with a wingspan of about 112 cm (44 in). It has black upperparts and white underparts. The outer portions of the upper surface of its tail are white as are portions of the trailing edges of its upper wings. This bird's orange-and-black bill has a laterally compressed lower mandible that extends well beyond the upper mandible and is used to skim small fish and other food from the surface of the water. Feet and legs are orange to reddish-orange. Juveniles have mottled gray and white upperparts instead of black. Their bills are a much duller orange-gray in color and their feet and legs are pinkish. Immature birds are similar to adults but have grayish upper surfaces on their wings and often some gray color on the shoulders and nape.
Adult royal terns (Thalasseus maximus) and Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) are the most similar species to adult skimmers; however, they both have light gray backs, black legs, and much shorter bills with mandibles that are about the same length. Their bills are bright orange (royal tern) to red or red-orange (Caspian tern). The juvenile Caspian tern can look similar to the juvenile black skimmer, but its back is lighter in color, its cap tends to be darker gray-black than the skimmer's, its bill is a lighter orange or yellowish orange color, and it has black legs.
Black skimmers form breeding colonies on beaches, sandbars, dredge spoil islands, marsh islands, and gravel rooftops (in Florida). They prefer sparsely vegetated, sandy substrates and often nest in close association with gulls and terns. In areas where such habitat is lacking, they may nest on the wrack line in saltmarsh. Foraging habitat includes bays, estuaries, tidal creeks and rivers, saltmarsh pools, and other shallow coastal waters, usually within 5 km (3 mi) of the nesting site.
Small fish, particularly killifish (Fundulus spp.), herrings, and pipefish, and small crustaceans.
When feeding, this bird flies with its bill open, the elongated lower mandible inserted in the water, snapping its upper mandible shut on small fish, shrimp, and other prey it touches. This tactile method allows it to feed in low light conditions at dawn and dusk and at night. Skimmers frequently forage together along the shoreline, cutting back and forth across the water uttering distinctive dog-like barks. Mated pairs usually arrive at colonies in Georgia in late April or May and begin constructing shallow, unlined nest scrapes in the sand. Normally, a clutch of 1-5 eggs is laid by mid-June. Eggs are incubated for 21–25 days before hatching. Both adults brood the young for the first week after hatching and guard them in the nest for two additional weeks. Chicks are semiprecocial, leaving the nest within 1-5 days. They begin to fly after about 5 weeks but remain dependent on their parents for food for at least a few more weeks.
Helicopter, boat, or pedestrian surveys of beaches, sand spits, and other habitats likely to support this species. Skimmers often nest in colonies with other ground nesting waterbird species, so any surveys for these other species can detect skimmer nesting. Surveys should be conducted from a safe distance to prevent stress or colony abandonment. Documenting the number of nests and location of nesting colonies should be the highest priority. High-resolution digital photographs may be very useful in determining the number of nests as well as the nesting stage of individual nests. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) can be used to survey colonies with minimal disturbance. Additional information that would be useful would be nest success and productivity.
In North America the black skimmer breeds locally along the Atlantic Coast from Massachusetts to Florida and along the Gulf Coast from Florida to the Yucatán Peninsula. Small numbers breed at a handful of sites along the Pacific Coast from southern California south to Nayarit, Mexico. The majority of the North American population winters along the Atlantic coast of southern Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southward along both coasts of Mexico and Central America. A few birds winter as far north as the Carolinas. Nesting was first documented in Georgia on Sea Island in 1903 and skimmers were found nesting on Oysterbed Island at the mouth of the Savannah River in the 1920s, with the nesting population at this site reaching 800–1,000 pairs in 1927. During the Breeding Bird Atlas (1994-2001) this species nested on Little Egg Island Bar and on the north end of Wassaw Island. More recently, black skimmers have nested or attempted to nest at Tybee, Little Tybee, and Little St. Simons islands; Little Egg Island Bar; Pelican Spit; St. Catherines Island Bar; a sandbar in the Ogeechee River near Ossabaw Island; and at a dredge spoil site (Bird Island) near the mouth of the Brunswick River in Glynn County.
Black skimmer populations declined during the late 1800s as a result of market hunting and egg collecting. They rebounded following protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1918), but by the 1970s numbers began declining again due to development of coastal habitats. Populations have apparently stabilized in most locations. Coastal development still poses a significant direct and indirect threat to this species. Beach armoring could result in changes to the natural deposition of sand and reduce areas of beach nesting habitat. Hydrologic changes resulting from new causeways, docks, and other structures could also affect natural beach building processes and could impact water flow regimes resulting in loss of foraging sites. Vehicles, people, and pets can crush eggs and young birds and dogs may chase and kill young and occasionally adult birds. Significant disturbance at nest sites may lead to abandonment of the colony and the subsequent loss of young. Numerous other human-mitigated factors have the potential to affect black skimmers negatively, including exposure to contaminants, oil spills, hunting in the neotropics, loss of nesting habitat because of global sea level rise, and flooding and destruction of nests during extreme weather events due to climate change.
Nesting colonies have occurred in recent decades on Wassaw, Tybee, Little Tybee, and Little St. Simons Islands; Little Egg Island Bar; Pelican Spit; a sandbar in the Ogeechee River near Ossabaw Island; and Bird Island dredge spoil site in Glynn County.
The North American Waterbird Conservation Plan estimates the black skimmer population at 65,000-70,000 breeding individuals and lists this bird as a Species of High Concern. In 1976 there were an estimated 380 pairs of skimmers nesting at three sites on the Georgia Coast. During the Breeding Bird Atlas project (1994-2001) about 200–300 pairs nested each year at Little Egg Island Bar and in 2005 nearly 700 pairs nested at this site. From 2010 to 2019 an average of 389 nesting pairs were documented annually, although these numbers varied widely, with a low of 93 nesting pairs in 2010 to a high of 607 nesting pairs in 2017. No clear population trend was evident. In recent years the most important nesting sites for black skimmers have been Pelican Spit and Brunswick’s Bird Island. Reducing human disturbance at breeding colonies is a primary conservation goal throughout much of the black skimmer’s range. This species is generally intolerant of humans, and females may abandon frequently disturbed colonies before laying eggs. Restrictions on beach vehicle traffic and fencing around colonies have helped to increase reproductive success in some locations. Management for black skimmers in Georgia focuses on maintaining low levels of recreational disturbance and controlling emergent vegetation at colony sites. Predator control (removal of raccoons) has also been used at Little Egg Island Bar, and while not done specifically for skimmers, it has helped reduce the number of eggs and young lost.
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R. Clay George, Todd M. Schneider, Bradford Winn, and Andy Day
C. George, 2010: Breeding Bird Atlas species account
T. Schneider and B. Winn, July 2010: modified and edited text
K. Owers, July 2010: updated status and ranks, added pictures
A. Day, November 2019: modified and edited text
T. Schneider, 15 November 2019: added updated text, edited photo captions
