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Shorebird Team Documents First Black Skimmer Chick in 3 Decades!
The 2026 nesting season has kept SCCF’s shorebird team and our dedicated volunteers busy across Sanibel and surrounding coastal sites.
Since nesting season began in February, they have monitored dozens of nesting attempts and broods across multiple beaches, mudflats, and Sanibel Causeway islands by snowy plovers (Anarhynchus nivosus), Wilson’s plovers (Anarhynchus wilsonia), least terns (Sternula antillarum), black skimmers (Rynchops niger), willets (Tringa semipalmata), and black-necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus).
The Causeway colony has become a critical refuge, with 81 least tern nests and 15 black skimmer nests documented so far this season.
“In an exciting milestone, the first black skimmer chick has hatched at the Causeway since the early 1990s — the first successful nesting record we have been able to confirm in more than three decades,” said Shorebird Biologist Audrey Albrecht. (See photo above.)
On Sanibel, snowy plovers have successfully hatched four nests and fledged four chicks, with additional nests still active despite challenges from predators, storms, and other natural pressures.
Least terns and black skimmers have faced especially challenging conditions at several Sanibel colonies, where repeated coyote depredation has reduced nesting success and caused birds to shift to other locations.
“Thanks to funds quickly raised earlier this month, we were able to provide supplies so the Hammerheads could build shelters for the black skimmers,” said Albrecht. “We are also grateful for our volunteers who will be coming tomorrow to paint those shelters so we can get them out into the nesting areas soon.”
Beyond Sanibel, our team continues to support nesting birds — working with partners throughout the region to monitor Wilson’s plovers, black-necked stilts, and other coastal species at North Captiva, Estero Bay Preserve State Park, Bunche Beach, and Bunche Salt Flats.
“Each season brings new challenges, but the dedication of our staff and volunteers allows us to protect these vulnerable birds across a wide and ever-changing landscape,” adds Albrecht.