[va-bird] oceanfront Black Skimmers

For the past three days there has been a flock of close to 200 Black Skimmers 
hanging out in the sand on the beach at 12th Street, Virginia Beach ( right 
in front of the historic deWitt Cottage also known as the Atlantic Wildfowl 
Heritage Museum). Tom (Director of the Museum) first saw them on Tuesday in the 
afternoon. He watched as people would walk close and they would fly up and 
around only to return. Yesterday (in the rain) they flew past the Cottage 
north. 
This afternoon they returned around 2pm. Mary Reid Barrow and I went out and 
took tons of pictures. They let us get very close to us. A couple of time while 
the magnificent birds took flight they seemed to swirl all around us. It was 
wonderful and similar to a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds". The day 
before Halloween made it kind of eerie. Mary Reid and I were able to observe 
them for quite some time. We noticed how when they walked in the dry sand they 
kicked up tufts of sand as if the tips of their feet buried under the sand 
before lifting them up to walk. The majority were not feeding in the shallow 
waves, but we did see a few skim the surface of the water. We also noticed one 
skimming the dry sand as if it were hunting for food or perhaps gathering sand 
for 
digestion. Any ides out there? Mary Reid and I are also wondering WHY they 
are where they are. We have never noticed them on the oceanfront in the past 
and 
instead have seen them inland at places like the Lynnhaven Inlet. Has anyone 
else in Virginia Beach seen them on the oceanfront now or in the past? If any 
of you have answers for us please post for all to see or contact us.
Karen Beatty (Chirp50@xxxxxxx)  or Mary Reid Barrow (Barrow1@xxxxxxx)
KB & MRB , Virginia Beach, VA


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