Look deep into nature, and then y everything better. ~A ou will understand lbert Einstein
110
THE
g n i k r Ba Birds AMONG US
Black skimmers on nests.
Black skimmer skimming for food in the shallows at Stone Harbor Point.
Tracking and Protecting the Black Skimmers That Nest at Stone Harbor Point By Dr. Lisa Ferguson of The Wetlands Institute
T
hey bark. They hang out in large flocks on short orange legs by the water in the summer heat. And when they lift and swirl as a flock, they are a spectacle that can take your breath away. If you pay close attention, you might notice some black skimmers are bigger (the males) than others (the females). In a rather unique approach to fishing, they glide over still waters of the slack tide with the lower, longer bill scraping the surface of the water, tracing lines as they search by feel for food. When they find their target, they snap their necks down to secure their prey. One fish at a time. Their large eyes with cat-like pupils and long slender wings equip them to work the waters under dim light when the fish make their vertical migration, putting them within reach of that skimming bill. On Seven Mile Beach, we are lucky to showcase a colony of black skimmers at the south end of Stone Har-
Skimmer chicks in the nest, a simple shallow scrape in the sand.
bor Point. There is only a short list of other spots in New Jersey where this state-endangered seabird nests. Of the 2,341 skimmers present at nesting sites in New Jersey in 2024 (as estimated by New Jersey Fish and Wildlife in the 2024 New Jersey Beach-Nesting Bird Project Report), more than a third selected Stone Harbor Point as their spot – 898 skimmers, to be exact. Skimmers tend to seek out-of-the-way locations, far from the crowds that might disturb their stations for warming eggs, guarding chicks, and catching rest on the shorelines. But if the conditions are right, they have been known to nest on busy beaches and in the marsh grasses, too. Their nest is a simple shallow scrape dug by foot, making the 3-4 eggs they so carefully tend within vulnerable to flooding from storms, tidal surges, land and aerial predators, and, perhaps no surprise, many of the activities we love the beach for, too. In 2024, there
were only three active colonies in the state, the lowest number on record since 1976, which speaks to just how important it is to protect these sites. Since 2015, black skimmers have been a focus of our work through the Research and Conservation Department at The Wetlands Institute. Each summer, in partnership with the Borough of Stone Harbor, our stewards keep a protective eye on the skimmers and their beach-nesting neighbors like piping plovers, American oystercatchers, and common terns. The stewards answer questions, educate, and direct people on routes less disruptive to the birds that are simply trying to raise their young in a crowded world. This mission gets increasingly challenging as the young hatch and test their legs on the open beach, often seeking position on the water’s edge where the sand and updrafts are cooler. It gets hot on the upper
Skimmers resting near the cooler areas along the waters edge. continued on page 112
Seven Mile Times June 2025
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