Every spring the Black Skimmers descend on Sarasota's Lido Beach for mating and raising chicks. The challenge is to get shots of them as they ply the surf along the shore for fish for their young.
Black Skimmers have a wingspan of about 4 feet and fly at about 20 MPH while "skimming". The strange, uneven bill of the skimmer has a purpose: the bird flies low, with the long lower mandible plowing the water, snapping the bill shut when it contacts a fish. Unlike most birds, their eyes have vertical pupils, narrowed to slits to cut the glare of water and white sand.
