WatchList Species Account for Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)

Qualifies for the list as a Declining Yellow List Species

Photo: ClipArt.com

Nesting in mixed colonies with various species of terns, the Black Skimmer will occupy a site where a large and successful colony has formed for year after year. Small colonies usually relocate. The bird is highly social not only during breeding but during the rest of the year, where it forms large flocks. The birds are largely crepuscular and even nocturnal, though they are active throughout the day.

Breeding range on the Atlantic Coast is from Massachusetts to Florida and along the Gulf Coast to northern Mexico; the western population breeds at Salton Sea and along the coast of Orange and San Diego Counties. In winter it is found in small numbers from the Carolinas along the Gulf Coast to Panama. There are two other races of the skimmer in South America. During nesting it prefers shell bars or open areas of sand or gravel and on salt marsh islands. Much of its beach habitat has been developed for commerce, residences or recreation. In North Carolina most of the nests are on dredge spoil islands or other human-made or altered sites. During winter it is on coastal beaches and sand or shell bars in estuaries. With its longer lower mandible it skims the water to capture small fishes in shallow water.

Though once regarded as vulnerable and declining, recent evidence is that its population has stabilized in much of its range. Currently one threat is human disturbance during nesting; off-road vehicles are a major threat, requiring total closing of some beaches for the entire breeding season. Beach closure through educational signs and patrolling by wardens to keep dogs out during breeding benefit the bird.