African skimmers are one of those iconic birds that I've always wanted to see. After a flock of seven had flown along the river the previous evening, I was anticipating seeing them a bit closer.
These birds are intra-Africa migrants. They come to the Chobe River in the dry season when there are plenty of sand-bars for them to roost and as they prefer shallower water, use the river to hunt for fish. They are specialised feeders, having a longer lower mandible which they "trawl" along the surface as they fly, snapping their heads back and closing the upper mandible when they sense a fish.
We caught up with a total of eight birds along the sandbanks here and marvelled at their long-winged buoyant flight. They spend most of the daytime on the sandbanks and only start to fish in the late afternoon when the sun begins to set.
Photos showing the elongated lower mandible which is up to 30mm longer than the upper.
The birds were becoming active and started to fly around the sandbanks.
They then began to chase each other in an excited fashion. I'm unsure if this was an aggressive display or part of courtship.
But then we were treated to several fly pasts by the pair that were on the closest sand bank. They flashed by our boat giving us amazing views of their flying skills.
I was ecstatic at this stage and watched fascinated as the birds went about their activities. What amazing birds these are.
