The Wetlands Institute’s Black Skimmer Banding Effort

Posted February 1st 2021

For more than 50 years, The Wetlands Institute has been providing programs in research, education and conservation from its home base at 1075 Stone Harbor Blvd.

In 2016, the institute began its Black Skimming Banding effort in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Audubon. The goal of this initiative is to understand more about habitat use as well as nest- and hatch-site fidelity to inform restoration and management efforts for the species. These efforts will also provide information about species survival and dispersal to help inform population estimates for this sensitive species. Recently, 153 of the 252 skimmers that were banded at the Institute’s local study sites have been sighted.

“It’s really incredible how much information we have gathered on the species even though this is a relatively new effort,” says Samantha Collins, research scientist at The Wetlands Institute. “We have received so many resight reports of our banded birds across their range, not just by partners conducting survey efforts but also many local birders and photographers who admire these birds. The amount of reports have surpassed our expectations.”

There have been 648 resight records total. Black skimmers that were banded in New Jersey have been sighted in nine other states including Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. They also have been resighted in three other countries: Cuba, Mexico, and Canada.
Black skimmers are considered endangered in New Jersey and a species of special concern in North Carolina and Florida. North American populations are on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List, which lists bird species that are at risk of becoming threatened or endangered without conservation action.

Upcoming Programs at The Wetlands Institute:
Nature Education for Homeschool Students snd Teachers (Nehst)
Divided into three semesters for autumn, winter and spring, NEHST offers support to virtual classroom instruction in a safe and meaningful way for children ages 5-13+ who are learning from home. In addition to the in-person program offered at The Wetlands Institute, the program also features Activity Packs for those who prefer completely at-home learning or wish to supplement their in-person experience. Packs are filled with everything kids need to explore each theme. The spring semester programs run on Thursday, March 18, Thursday, April 15, and Thursday, May 20. For more information, go to https://wetlandsinstitute.org/education/homeschool-programs