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Bajadreamer

Staying at San Joaquin Marsh and Wildlife Reserve, here is another species exhibiting its iconic feeding style. Black Skimmers fly very close to the water surface with its mandible (lower beak) held just below the surface. Hard to believe how quick they must be to snap up tiny fish or other creatures as they feel them under the water. This image shows what happens when the bird miscalculates how deep it pushes its beak under the water while skimming over the surface. This individual did a somersault, but recovered and continued to fly up and then resume its feeding. About 75% FF cropped at 16:9 to highlight the water trail with little processing done in PS