The Skimmer Bird Part 1
These skimmer birds visit our pond at Beach Club each day. Usually, there is one, but sometimes two. They show up every couple of hours, do a few laps around the pond, skimming the water as they fly at high speed, hoping to scoop up some of the minnows that are abundant in the pond. It is fascinating to watch, and makes for some beautiful pictures, but its difficult to capture them. They only stick around for a minute or two, so as I sit at my “desk” in front of our slider working, I might see them out of the corner of my eye. Then I need to act fast, put on my sneakers, grab my camera and run down two flights of stairs, get to a good spot and snap some pics before they decide to move on to another pond. Luckily they follow a pattern, and I was able to learn it. So, I get myself prepared, set my camera settings, keep my sneakers on, have my camera sitting out on the table next to me. This way, when I spot the birds I can spring into action. After a couple days of trying and optimizing my reaction, I finally got some good pics.
Notice the long pointed beak, all the better for skimming.
I love the swoop of his wings in this one.
After days of trying, I finally got a good picture of him in full skim mode.