2021 Bird Portrait Contest finalists

This was the second time I had gone to observe the colony of Black Skimmers nesting on Lido Key, Florida, and this time I had my camera. The Audubon Society volunteers had roped off a large area for the birds' comfort, and I camped myself on the sand at the outskirts with my 600mm lens, hoping to capture impactful behavior. The skimmer families were fascinating to watch, and some opportunities were missed just by being engrossed so much in observation that I forgot to click the shutter! I was fortunate to capture this image, however, of a parent feeding his brood. The nests are just a dell in the sand, and the chicks are of staggered ages. In this image, you can see an egg still unhatched. The parents are very protective, as crows and gulls can sweep in and grab young chicks, and not infrequently do. All in all, a beautiful morning of insight into a Black Skimmer’s world.

Gear and settings: Sony a7r4, 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, on RRS tripod close to ground level. Exposure: f/6.3, 1/400s, ISO 100 at 600mm.