black skimmer

Black Skimmer bird St. Petersburg Florida North Shore Beach area

A black skimmer bird in St. Petersburg, Florida nature photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/800thThis black skimmer was enjoying the late afternoon sunshine on a small beach in the North Shore Park area of St. Petersburg, Florida.  I had to get down on the sand to get to the bird's eye level for this composition.  These birds get their name from skimming their beaks over the surface of the water in search of food.  Unfortunately, this bird and all her friends must have already eaten dinner because they were just standing around and I could not get any cool action shots of them skimming.  Such is the nature of nature photography!