A black skimmer heads directly towards me while it forages for small fish. These unique birds have long lower mandibles which they draw through the water just under the surface, and when it strikes a fish, the bill snaps shut. What I didn't know until I photographed this action was that the bill is angled so that the fish travel up the bill when it hits them, and that allows the shorter upper mandible to close down on the fish.
tagged: skimmer waterbird florida gulf of mexico national wildlife refuge
