[Length 17 in. Wingspan 36 in.]

This first year Black-legged Kittiwake was photographed at Isla Blanca County Park, South Padre Island, Texas. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens (EFL=292mm) on a Nikon D300 camera. (Date: January 11, 2012)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 36 in.]

This first year Black-legged Kittiwake was photographed at Isla Blanca County Park, South Padre Island, Texas. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens (EFL=187mm) on a Nikon D300 camera. (Date: January 11, 2012)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 36 in.]

This first year Black-legged Kittiwake was photographed at Isla Blanca County Park, South Padre Island, Texas. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens (EFL=330mm) on a Nikon D300 camera. (Date: January 11, 2012)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 36 in.]

This Black-legged Kittiwake in flight was photographed along the cliffs at the Cape St. Mary's Seabird Sanctuary in Newfoundland, Canada. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: July 1994)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 36 in.]

Black-legged Kittiwakes breed in large colonies on cliff faces across the high Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, and along the northeast coast of Canada. In North America they winter at sea along the west coasts of Canada and the US. Black-legged Kittiwakes are distinguished from other gulls by their small, plain, greenish-yellow bill and overall small size, and from the similar Mew Gull by the "dipped in ink" black tips of their wings which show no white spots. The Black-legged Kittiwake gets its name from its monotonous calls of "KITTI WAKE KITTI WAKE". This Black-legged Kittiwake was photographed at its nesting cliffs on St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: June 1984)

[Length 15 in. Wingspan 33 in.]

This Red-legged Kittiwake was photographed at its nesting cliffs on St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Photo taken with a Celestron 1250mm f10.0 mirror lens on Ektachrome 200 film. (Date: June 1984)

[Length 15.5 in. Wingspan 32 in.]

This Brown Noddy in flight was photographed at the south jetty, Port Aransas, TX. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: August 23, 2009)

[Length 18 in. Wingspan 44 in.]

Black Skimmers are Tern-like birds which breed in colonies on coastal outer beaches and major river systems in southern North America and much of South America. In North America the occur from Long Island, New York south to Florida, and across the Gulf states to Texas. They get their name from their unique method of feeding, in which they skim the surface of the water with just the tip of their lower bill as they fly low over the water. This one was photographed resting in the sand along the Kennedy Causeway in Corpus Christi, Texas. Photo taken with a 300mm f4.5 Nikkor ED lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: April 1981)