A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit a nesting colony of Black Skimmers on Wrightsville Beach.
Watching the parents fly back and forth to bring food to their mates and chicks was absolutely fascinating.
It’s such a joy to see new life thriving on the coast of North Carolina.

Black Skimmers typically nest as a large colony on the sand flats in between the dunes on our barrier islands.
One to five eggs are laid into a depression in the sand and are incubated by both parents for around 23 days.
The chicks break out of their eggs already covered in downy feathers and can even run around within a few hours of hatching.
During the first few days, one parent will stay with the chick but shortly thereafter the little one will be left alone on the beach while both parents go off to catch its next meal.
Despite their mobility, the little ones rely solely on their parents for food and usually scurry off to hide under some beach grass to await their parents return.

As it goes in large flocks, it’s only a matter of time until some bird drama goes down.
In this case I watched a Black Skimmer trying to bring a fish to his chick.
He wasn’t the only parent trying to feed his young though as a very aggressive Common Tern came swooping in to try and steal the Skimmers prize.
Over and over the Tern dove, snapping at the Skimmer with every pass.
I really thought the Tern would be successful given the speed of its attack.
Yet, the Skimmer held tight to that fish and managed to endure the onslaught long enough to feed his hungry chick.

Interestingly, Black Skimmers often nest near or among Tern colonies, which (despite skirmishes like this one) can provide benefits fir the Skimmers, as the Terns will aggressively attack gulls and mammals that prey on the eggs and chicks of both species.

For the most part, the Skimmers and Terns ignored each other and there was peace to be found on this beach.
In fact I saw far more squabbling between the Skimmers themselves as males super protective of their small territories around the nest.

Guarding the females against all other males, they use warning displays of force such as tossing their heads upward, standing upright, or facing down with the tail cocked up. Sometimes, the males spread their wings wide and opened their bills, exposing a bright red gape.

It wasn’t all about fighting though.
One of the sweetest things to watch are the Skimmers courtship rituals.
The males will fly in and present a fish to it’s chosen female.
If she refuses the fish, he’ll eat it and go out to catch another to try again.
If she accepts the gift, she’ll take the fish in her bill during the exchange and mate with the suitor immediately.
Once the couples bond is established, they’ll parade through the area together with necks outstretched and bills held up for all to see.

Although you can find them on most of our coastal beaches, Black Skimmers are most often spotted feeding in our inlets, estuaries and other slow moving bodies of water.

One of their most striking features are it’s red-and-black bill and as you can see here, they’ve got a lower mandible that juts out farther than does the upper.
When feeding, the Skimmer flies low over water with its beak open and lower mandible partially submerged.
When the lower part of the bill touches prey, such as a small fish, the bill’s upper mandible snaps down like a mousetrap, securing the bird’s meal.

Black Skimmers are a year round resident of North Carolina but they do appear to migrate locally to the southern coast of the Tarheel state during the winter months.
The Wrightsville Beach area is a wonderful spot to observe these handsome birds and it’s nice to know that there is a safe place for them to raise their families, thus securing a spot for the next generation of Skimmers to grace our shorelines.