black skimmer with chicks

[Thomas Finnie]

Greetings,

A special sight presented itself while perusing the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. It was a delight to watch the interaction of the black skimmers with their chicks on the sandy beach. A sight like this can't help but put a smile on your face and make you appreciate good ole Mother Nature.

This image made me realize that black skimmer chicks are born with beaks of equal length. I'm not sure what was up with the beak of the adult as their bottom beak is usually significantly longer than their top beak.

Nikon D300 > 400mm > f/7.1 > 1/200s > ISO 200 > Aperture Priority > 0EV > Spot metering

Thanks for looking and for your C/C,
Tom

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Interesting interaction and great to see the chicks, too. It looks as if the lower mandible of the adult broke off. I would raise the color temperature a bit and sharpen the birds more.

[denise ippolito]

Tom, Very nice environment/interaction image and I agree w/ the color temp. I think it is interesting that the lower mandible is broken. It raises some questions for me. Does this happen often? Is this from skimming too low? Is it caused from lack of nutrition? Hope to find out the answers.

[Thomas Finnie]

Hi Axel,

These made my day ... watched for 30 - 45 minutes before I got my camera in hand.

Thanks for your suggestion of raising the temperature + additonal sharpening. Out of curiosity, what method/technique do you use for sharpening?

Have a Great Day, :)
Tom

[Thomas Finnie]

Hi Denise,

Thanks for your kind comments and for your suggestions.

The broken mandible was really strange. I wonder as you, "What caused this? How often does this happen?" Perhaps someone in this forum knows.

It also makes me wonder, "At what point do the BS chick's beaks change from equal in length to unequal in length?" It seems as if it must start happening soon. I'll try to take pictures weekly to observe their progress and their transitional stage. That should be fun.

Have a Great Day, :)
Tom

[Connie Mier]

I think the broken mandible is a common occupational hazard for these birds. Really cool that you were able to capture the adult and chicks. I wished all the chicks were in focus and that the adult's body was not cut off.

[Arthur Morris]

The framing for the adult and the chick in the front is fine but the two chicks in the back are in less than ideal positions. Not sure how the bills get broken. By the time that the young are about ready to fly, the lower mandible is noticeably longer than the upper.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Thanks for your suggestion of raising the temperature + additonal sharpening. Out of curiosity, what method/technique do you use for sharpening?

Have a Great Day, :)
Tom

I use 'smart sharpen' for the bird only and start with 130/0.3/lens blur and uncheck 'more accurate'.

[denise ippolito]

I think the broken mandible is a common occupational hazard for these birds. Really cool that you were able to capture the adult and chicks. I wished all the chicks were in focus and that the adult's body was not cut off.

That's interesting to know-Thankyou.

[Thomas Finnie]

Hi Connie,

It was a pleasure to witness such a sight.

In the original picture there were two more chicks to the right of the parent. This would have left the birds too small in the picture, or at least I thought.

Thank you for your remarks,
Tom

[Thomas Finnie]

Hi Artie,

Thanks for the information regarding the transformation of the Black Skimmer's bills. It will be interesting to witness the bill transformation if able to get there on a weekly basis and capture some images.

Perhaps someone on the forum knows the reason(s) for the broken lower mandibles.

Have a Great Day, :)
Tom

[Thomas Finnie]

Hi Axel,

There are sooo many ways to sharpen it is confusing. It is nice to know how the pros sharpen. I'll be sure to give it a go.

Thanks and Have a Great Day, :)
Tom

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Tom, lovely family moment, and would be interested to know if the broken beak is a common thing among these skimmers. I agree to sharpen the chicks a tad more.

[Connie Mier]

It makes sense to me that the skimmer would be prone to injury while feeding since it relies mostly on touch and not sight to capture fish. I did a little research and found an interesting fact about them. The lower mandible grows much faster than the top one because it is eroded continuously from friction. Captured birds tend to have very long lower mandibles.
Thanks for posting the photo Tom!

[denise ippolito]

It makes sense to me that the skimmer would be prone to injury while feeding since it relies mostly on touch and not sight to capture fish. I did a little research and found an interesting fact about them. The lower mandible grows much faster than the top one because it is eroded continuously from friction. Captured birds tend to have very long lower mandibles.
Thanks for posting the photo Tom!

Thanks Connie, It does make sense!:)

[Thomas Finnie]

Ditto to Denise's post Connie ... most interesting. Thanks for the insgiht. :)