Happy Woosday!!!

 
I thought I would post a few from a trip to the beach earlier this year as it's been awfully hot for lugging a camera and tripod around.

A Ring Billed Gull




The Black Skimmers are unusual birds, they fly just over the surface of the water with their mouths open and just the lower half of their bill in the water. If it was looking at you the bill is very thin like a knife blade. Skimming along they snag small fish that they eat on the fly. Feeding mostly at night you can sometimes hear them over head, they have a call that reminds me of a small dog barking.


Graceful even in sleep.


This large flock will roost on the same sand bar every day when the tide is out. They let me get within about 15 - 20 feet of them with no complaints. A large bird with about a 4 foot wing span. Every now and then they will all fly up at once, circle the sand bar and then settle right down again. It's an amazing sensation to have a couple hundred birds that size leap up in flight while you are standing that close to them. In less then a minute or two they are back on the sand bar sound asleep.




Happy Woosday All,

Gator