New Black Skimmer Chicks Hatch and the Fledglings Take to the Air

 

photo by Dorothy Sutherland

LEAST TERNS – LETE

We have been counting Least Tern fledglings!  High count so far last week was 36.  Who do we count?  A LETE fledgling is any chick with flight feathers, i.e. not fuzzy!

Photos by Camille Daniels

Photo by Camille Daniels 

BLACK SKIMMERS – BLSK

A new colony of skimmers are nesting oceanside.  On the morning of July 22 our count revealed 36 new nests oceanfront and 11 nests inlet side…47 total!  New chicks were seen on 7/22 in the oceanfront colony. And this morning, 7/28, even more chicks are making an appearance.

Photos by Dorothy Sutherland 

Photos by Dorothy Sutherland

Look for bands on adult and juvenile Black Skimmers. 

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER – AMOY

Our chick “Tex” (banded ETX) is doing very well and we expect him/her to fly soon. 

Photo by Camille Daniels 

Flying Fledglings Continue to Impress Us

photo by Tom Hanna

LEAST TERNS (LETE) – We have Least Terns chicks everywhere and several have decided to leave the posting to go to the water…including very little ones.  If you see a chick making its way to the water, just walk with it and allow it to go to the water.  One of our beach stewards was on the beach yesterday afternoon and experienced this first hand.  The fuzzy chick walked to the water, got a drink and splashed and then walked back to the posting.

Parent birds are spending the day feeding and protecting their MANY chicks from the heat and potential predators.

photo by Tom Hanna

photo by Tom Hanna

COMMON TERNS (COTE) – Common Tern chicks and fledglings can be seen throughout the posting and on the beach.  The parent birds are encouraging the COTE fledglings to fly over the inlet.

photo by Tom Hanna

photo by Tom Hanna

photo by Tom Hanna

We also discovered two new Common Tern nests so little chicks are visible from the Masonboro Inlet side of the posting.

BLACK SKIMMERS (BLSK) – A group of biologists met again this week at sunrise to band more Black Skimmer chicks.  Capturing and banding non-flying Black Skimmer chicks takes place in phases as the chicks grow.   

We have a second wave of nesting as about 30 pairs of Black Skimmers continue in incubate nests close to the posting. 

photo by Tom Hanna

Black Skimmer chicks can be seen throughout the posting and are getting good size.  We are seeing juvenile BLSK flying over the inlet and practicing skimming skills this week. A total of 26 Black Skimmer fledglings were recently counted at the water’s edge and “skimming school” has begun!

photo by Tom Hanna

photo by Tom Hanna

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS (AMOY) – We are sadden to report that our injured Oystercatcher chick has not been seen for several days…which has been expected. 

The good news is that the second chick banded ETX   aka “Tex” is doing great!  The fact that we have a chick from this nesting developing so well after both of its parents sustained injuries and later one parent died is remarkable.  The good news is that Tex is reaching a really good size and will develop even faster now that the parent bird is feeding it exclusively.  Tex was seen this week taking a little flight on the beach.  You will see Tex, the Oystercatcher chick, unsupervised on the beach during low tide and it is “street/beach smart” running into the posting as vehicles or people approach.  

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Feeding of the AMOY chick generally lasts 2 hours before and after low tide. It is especially important that when you stop to see the Oystercatcher chick feed that you do so from a safe distance.

Lots of Action on the Beach As the Chicks Begin to Fledge

Least Tern with an Atlantic Silverside
photo by Patrick Carroll

Chicks are coming out of the posting to get to the water or be the first to greet its parent bird coming in with a fish. 

Black Skimmers with Atlantic Needlefish
Photos by Patrick Carroll

Black Skimmers with Striped Mullet
Photos by Patrick Carroll

LEAST TERNS (LETE) – Least Terns are spending the day feeding and protecting their MANY chicks from the heat and potential predators.

Least Tern chicks

Five Least Tern chicks of varying sizes compete for lunch.

A Least Tern fledgling comforts a new chick. 

After the initial flight lessons, we will begin seeing the chicks learn to hover over the water (to watch fish and judge how fast the fish are moving) and begin fishing very soon.  Parent birds will continue to feed these fledglings as they improve on their new skills and through the migration.

COMMON TERNS (COTE) – Common Tern chicks and fledglings can be seen throughout the posting and on the beach and the COTE parents have been keeping beachgoers a safe distance away.  The parent birds are encouraging the COTE fledglings to fly and are trying to motivate them to fly over the inlet.  Fishing lessons should begin soon!

We also discovered two new Common Tern nests so little chicks are visible from the Masonboro Inlet side of the posting.

 

BLACK SKIMMERS (BLSK) – At sunrise on Thursday, July 1, a group of biologists met at the colony with Lindsay to band Black Skimmer chicks.  We were able to band 27 BLSK chicks. 

We also learned this week that we now have approximately 30 new Black Skimmer nests towards the front of the posting on the inlet side.  Incubation continues!

Black Skimmer Chicks can be seen throughout the posting and are getting good size.  We are seeing juvenile BLSK flying over the inlet and practicing skimming skills this week.

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS (AMOY) – Two Oystercatcher chicks may be seen inlet side with the single parent bird EMY…and the un-banded helper bird.  We were able to band the largest chick …ETX (who we call “Tex”) but the smallest chick was too little to band at that time.

Parent with both chicks. 

We are saddened to report that the smallest un-banded chick has sustained an injured wing this week and you will see the wing drooping.  Our National Audubon biologist Lindsay Addison observed the chick on Sunday evening and unfortunately there is nothing we can do to help this bird.  We talked at length about possible strategies, but prior attempts to rehab have consistently been unsuccessful.  Chicks need to be able to fly to the oyster beds to learn firsthand from a parent bird how to feed themselves.

You will see the Oystercatcher chicks unsupervised on the beach during feeding and they are becoming rather “street/beach smart”.  The chicks are very aware of people and run into the posting as vehicles or people approach.  

Feeding of the AMOY chicks generally lasts 2 hours before and after low tide.  It is especially important that you encourage beachgoers to stop and enjoy this unique opportunity to see Oystercatcher chicks feed from a safe distance. 

IMPORTANT …LOOK FOR FISHING LINE!

Fishing line could potentially entangle the parent birds and/or chicks...just like the parent Oystercatcher who was injured.  We have consistently found fishing line on the beach this week. 

Here is some helpful parking information for your next beach visit.

Just Another Day at the Beach

 

Least Tern chick camouflaged on the beach.

 No need for binoculars to see lots of Least Tern chicks running around on the beach....

Common Tern chicks are growing rapidly...

Common Tern chicks taking refugee from the sun
 in a small bit of shadow from one of the postings.

Hungry chicks demanding food!

Beware of Common Tern parents protecting their chicks!

These Common Tern chicks can already fly. Next step is learning to catch their own dinner.

Black Skimmers dominate the landscape!

These Black Skimmer chicks are almost ready to fly and then will begin to learn how to skim for their own meals.  Meanwhile they love to relax in the sand.

This is a band on one of our Black Skimmers.
Several more were banded last week.

American Oystercatcher Family 

photo by Liling Warren

photo by Liling Warren

And if you ever get tired of watching the birds.... stick around for the sunset!

photo by Marlene Eader