Spotting Banded Black Skimmers in an Unusual Winter Location

The Orlando area is busy—Disney theme parks, lots of new construction, and the interstate, packed with people coming and going. One of the last things most tourists think about is beach birds. But one January day, amidst the shoppers and hotel guests clambering for some sunshine at Cranes Roost Park off I-4, hundreds of Black Skimmers loafed the day away just a few dozen feet from the walking paths, plaza with fountain show, and floating amphitheater.

Jeff Percell was surprised. Visiting from the Boulder, Colorado area for a business trip, Percell always looks for opportunities to see new birds. “The 220 Black Skimmers I saw were actually a life bird for me,” he says.

Black Skimmers are coastal birds found along beaches and nearshore waters protected from heavy wave action, such as lagoons, estuaries, and inlets. During migration, the Florida resident population of skimmers swells with birds from breeding areas along the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast, typically resting on quiet beaches and secluded inland lakes.

The Black Skimmers Percell spotted were primarily resting on a floating dock platform in the middle of the lake, occasionally taking flight to skim the water for food.

Even more exciting was the treasure hunt that followed—upon reviewing his photos, Percell noticed that several of the birds were wearing leg bands of various colors.

He eagerly reached out to us and the USGS with the band information and learned that the birds with blue bands came from New Jersey, yellow from New York, and white from Virginia. Interestingly, none of the birds had green bands, indicating they came from Florida. Audubon Florida biologists have received reports of Black Skimmers banded in Florida at other Central Florida locations, including Lake Okeechobee, but none have been reported as far north as Seminole County.

Percell received certificates from the USGS for six of the birds he reported, including Yellow ABK, banded by Katharine Goodenough with the Larid Research and Conservation Group at the University of Central Oklahoma. She told us that the bird, which hatched in 2020 or earlier, was banded near Lido Beach in Nassau County, NY, on July 21, 2022. Goodenough also indicated that several individuals she has studied used the area from Wekiva Springs, Lake Apopka, Lake Jessup, and over to the coast at Cape Canaveral.

Goodenough collaborates with Audubon North Carolina and Audubon Delta to train coastal biologists in tern and skimmer capture and GPS and MOTUS deployment along the Mid-Atlantic Coast and the upper Gulf of Mexico in Mississippi.

Now that it is April, the birds are getting ready to fly back to their breeding beaches to produce the next generation. Between here and there, they must navigate conservation challenges such as communication towers and light pollution, but the biggest challenge they face every year is finding a quiet place on the beach to raise their young.

Luckily, here in Florida, Audubon is protecting the places that birds need today and in the future. At beach-nesting sites, staff and volunteer stewards ensure that beachgoers do not enter fragile nesting areas and educate visitors about the remarkable species that rely on Florida's shores for survival.

We need your help.

If you enjoy spending time on the beach and interacting with the public, we encourage you to volunteer. Learn more and sign up here.