The Bolsa Chica wetlands are a good place to observe birds and practice your wildlife photography. During the summer months the Black Skimmers make their appearance. Not only are they are beautiful birds to look at as they fly like an F-16 fighter plane, they are quite the photographic challenge.
What is unique about them is their fishing technique. Whereas most birds like pelicans and terns and kingfisher dive into the water to grab fish with their beaks, and other birds like osprey and bald eagles grab them with their talons, the Black Skimmer flies with its lower beak (longer than the upper) in the water to scoop the fish out.
On this page we will showcase of few of the many Black Skimmer photos Dr. P has taken over the decades at Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Don’t wait too long to go see them because they tend to stay around Bolsa Chica only in the summer.
Photos of Black Skimmers
If you are in the correct place you will see one leaving the pools at Bolsa Chica and going out into the ocean to fish
And hopefully see it come back with a fish in its mouth
When they fish at Bolsa Chica they come in fast and seem to appear out of nowhere, so keep those “eyes peeled”.
They literally fly with their lower beak in the water
Keep those shutter speeds fast with your telephoto lens and keep on moving with them as they streak by
You need a 400mm lens at least, with a shutter speed of at least 1/2000th of a second, to get shots like these
They come at you from any direction
You can learn much more about Dr. P’s wildlife photography by clicking here.
You can learn more about Bolsa Chica Wetlands at this link.