Earthflight - Skimmers Go Fishing
Black Skimmers, with one of the most extraordinary ways of fishing, scoop up fish in the Llanos, Venezuela.
Earthflight uses many different filming techniques to create the experience of flying with birds as they encounter some of the greatest natural events on the planet. Clip from our series Earthflight - Episode 4 ‘South America’, on BBC.
(via: John Downer Productions)
A male Neon Skimmer (Libellula croceipennis) in flight, Grapevine, TX, USA.
(photo: TexasEagle)
fairy-wren: black skimmer with atlantic needlefish
Black Skimmer, Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, USA
(photo: Mark Bartosik)
Migrating Birds Escaped Worst of Gulf Oil Spill
A year after the Gulf oil spill, predictions of mass bird die-offs and disrupted migrations have not come true—but oil is still oozing into some bird habitats, experts say.
The timing of the disaster had especially worried scientists and bird-watchers, since it came amid the annual spring migration of tens of millions of birds through the Gulf of Mexico… In the short term, birds in Louisiana may still get oiled by tar balls that are still washing up on beaches and oozing in marsh grasses.
Melanie Driscoll, Gulf Coast director of bird conservation for the National Audubon Society, said she’s “incredibly dismayed” that oil remains in areas where birds nest and feed in the ongoing breeding season. Birds can get oil on their feathers and transfer it to eggs or hatchlings, which are especially vulnerable to the oil’s toxicity…
(Read more: National Geo) (* Black Skimmers pictured in a file photo)
Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) (photo: Mario Goren)
The Skimmer uses its long lower beak to skim the water for fish. (via: National Geo)
inothernews: POINTS EAST A flock of black skimmers face into a cold blustery wind as they huddle together on a beach in Tampa, Florida. (Photo: AP via the Telegraph)
