Black Skimmer in nonbreeding plumageBlack Skimmer in nonbreeding plumage – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 310mm, natural light

When I did my post the other day on “Missing Fort De Soto” I found this Black Skimmer image in my archives while looking for photos to put in that post and wanted to share it. I hadn’t edited it and I don’t think I have ever posted a Black Skimmer in nonbreeding plumage, this one looks a bit tattered but it is in molt. The back of the neck is now white but a few weeks after I took this image the neck would have been as dark as the feathers on the skimmer’s head.

Some photographers might not have bothered to take this image because the Black Skimmer is on a mud flat and some people find that to be an unappealing setting, my thoughts on that are that I like to take photos of birds in their natural habitat no matter where that might be. As far as I can tell the skimmer didn’t care.

I have been having problems with my blog lately, I know there have been times it won’t load or when you haven’t been able to comment, I am working on getting this site migrated to a more reliable hosting provider.  Even replying to your comments has been a time consuming process so I am behind. Thank you all for your patience.

Mia