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Dow Black Skimmer Colony
Dow Black Skimmer Colony is located at Clute * (29.017954, -95.39395 )
in or near the city of
Clute
 In 1968, 38 black skimmers flew into Dow Texas Operations' Plant A and landed in an oyster shell parking lot. Then they just made themselves at home.
Thanks to the vision and passion of some Dow employees the former parking lot was turned into a permanent nesting ground for the birds. Starting in 1984, Dow has hosted an open house to give everyone an opportunity to view the largest skimmer nesting ground inside an industrial complex.
For most of the year, skimmers use beaches from the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean all the way to New York, but in the spring each year, they flock together to mate and lay eggs. The skimmer scouts look for the Dow site in April. During May, the lot fills up with adult birds which stay until the end of August to fledge their young. The 2003 nesting season had 1,500 adult skimmers (400 breeding pairs) producing 300 fledglings.
The black-winged, orange-billed fowl usually build scrapes on oyster shell or sandbars in bays, but these locations can be disturbed by predators or activities such as boating. They control temperature by shading eggs and chicks with their bodies protecting them from the heat and incubating them in cool conditions.
The lower half of the skimmer's bill is longer than the upper half, and as the bill grows away from its face, it becomes as flat as a knife blade, but in a vertical plane. This extended lower bill allows the bird to fly just above the surface of the water with its lower bill slicing through it. Adult skimmers do not eat or drink on their nesting site, but do bring some of the catch-of-the-day home to their young. Skimmers have elliptical shaped pupils which allow them to tolerate the bright summer sun on the sand or shell surfaces that they prefer for nesting and resting.
Controlled public tours of the Black Skimmer nesting site are conducted on the fourth Saturday in June. For more information contact 979-238-4649.
Dow Black Skimmer Colony Information
Dow Black Skimmer Colony Telephone
Dow Black Skimmer Colony Website
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Cities and towns within 30 miles of Clute,
Texas. |
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Clute GPS Coordinates
(29.026, -95.394)
Dow Black Skimmer Colony GPS Coordinates
(29.017954, -95.39395) |
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